Emily's Little Wolf
by Sari-Damien
Summary: Emily is overwhelmed taking care of the pack when she takes in a stray wolf who shows up at her back door 1 day. It turns out to be Johannah Bailey who's been missing for 8 yrs since her mother was murdered. Double imprinting goodness follows with 1 of the pack members. Leah gets her favorite cousin back -not Emily- & Emily gets some much needed help feeding the boys. T 4 Lang. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**I know I've said before that I really don't care for the wolves. Buuuut... I have recently read some really good FF that have started to sway me. Also, the developments in Vita Mirabilis and the next book in that line have made me LOVE Leah - at least how I write her. :) Anyhow, this was just a random idea that started in the back of my mind and exploded into a complete story line and I have been typing as fast as I possibly can to get it down and published. I really hope you'll let me know what you think about it and leave any thoughts or ideas if there is a way to make it better. :D ... Sari**

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><p>Emily Young was starting to feel burned out from cooking enough food for thirty five people three times a day; although it was consumed by only eight to twelve people. She was presently setting platters of sandwiches and a large crock-pot of stew out for the hoard of boys that would invade her house at any moment. There were already bags of chips, bottles of soda, pickles and hot peppers set out along side paper plates, bowls and plastic cups. She wasn't going to serve them, or even be there to oversee mealtime as she usually did. No, Emily was going to take advantage of the sunny weather and do something for herself.<p>

Her sheets were sitting in the washing machine just waiting to be taken out and hung on the clothesline that was so rarely used. She smiled as she went to retrieve them, looking forward to climbing into her bed that night. She loved the smell and feel of freshly washed sheets that had been hung out to dry. When there was a cool breeze it somehow gave them an extra crisp feel. She knew the boys would be laughing if they knew her inner thoughts but she didn't much care. She spent so much time taking care of the pack that she hadn't had a chance to do any of the little things that made her happy. But that was going to change. She had decided that to keep her sanity and her relationship with Sam in good standing, she was going to take the time every day to do one thing for Emily.

She stepped out into the bright sunshine, enjoying the fresh cool smell of the early fall day. She turned her face up to the sun loving the feel of its warmth. Crossing to the small clothesline structure, she set her basket on the low shelf screwed to the supporting post. As the ground was almost constantly wet she had made the boys add it when she had restrung the lines. She was humming softly as she shook out sheets and pillowcases, slowly hanging them in precise straight lines. There was something so therapeutic about doing laundry, and hanging it outdoors was the best part. She was down to the bottom of the basket when a flash of movement to the right caught her attention. She turned and looked but saw nothing. Shrugging it off as a figment of her imagination, she shook out the last pillowcase with a snap before hanging it on the line.

With a feeling of immense satisfaction, she picked up her empty laundry basket and turned to go back into the house. She stopped with a jolt, her hand on her chest, as she saw a dog crouched by the apple tree about twenty feet from her. That must have been the movement she had seen, she thought, relieved that it was something so innocuous. She smiled as it looked at her with pitiful eyes.

"Oh, look at you," she murmured, her compassionate side immediately feeling bad for the creature. It looked as if it had not eaten in days. She stepped closer very carefully, taking a better look at the dog. As she studied it she realized it looked a lot more like a wolf than a dog. Although filthy dirty, she could see that its fur was white. Despite the dirt and emaciated look of it, she thought that with a little food and a bath, it would be a beautiful creature. As if knowing that her thoughts were sympathetic and kind, the dog whined and dipped its head. Emily looked towards the house where she could hear the boys entering from the front. She pointed at the small wolf.

"Don't go anywhere. I'll bring you out something to eat." The little beast whined again and waved its tail as if it knew exactly what she had just said. She grinned at it before hurrying into the house. Sam was coming through the front door as she came in the back and they smiled simultaneously as they set eyes on each other.

"Hi," she greeted him breathlessly as he slid an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her face. He smiled at her, "Smells great in here." She rolled her eyes and pushed away from him playfully. "Of course it does. When does it ever not smell good in here?" Her question was saucy and she was proud of herself for keeping even a thread of sarcasm from her voice.

She understood why things were the way they were, but sometimes, she just wanted a few days alone without a half dozen overgrown boys storming into the house at all hours. And she really wanted to do something other than cook all day! It would be nice if there was someone else to help out at least, or to just take one meal off her hands. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she smiled as she watched Sam join the boys and load himself up with a mountain of food.

Opening the fridge she debated what to feed the little mongrel outside. It wasn't like there was a supply of pet food on hand, although she did feed a pack of dogs daily. Emily grinned with humor at her own joke. There was still a good third of the stew in the pot and as all the boys had already gotten a portion, she scooped out a nice helping into a paper bowl making sure there was a lot of meat included. Setting the bowl of hot food in the freezer to cool, she took the opportunity to make herself a plate of food before the wolves could devour it all.

The boys were all eating heartily and didn't notice when she slipped outside with the food. The wolf/dog was still waiting where it had been told and when it caught sight of the bowl in her hand it pawed the ground as it whined loudly. Emily moved cautiously and set the bowl a few feet from where it was before backing up.

"There you go."

It moved closer and sniffed the bowl before licking the stew in a cautious manner. She laughed quietly thinking that it somehow resembled a picky child tasting something they weren't sure they liked. It was probably a sign that she spent way too much time around the boys/wolves and was now attributing human characteristics to a stray dog. It obviously found the food edible as it suddenly started wolfing it down. She had been right in her assumption it had been a while since it had eaten, as the full bowl was gone in a matter of seconds. It licked every stray drop of broth and then looked at Emily with soulful eyes and once again her overactive imagination made her think it was trying to convey thanks.

The screen door creaked as it was opened and she looked to see Sam in the doorway, sandwich in hand. He was looking at the dog and she glanced back to see it standing frozen, staring at Sam with terror. He took a step out onto the porch. "A pet?" he asked in a teasing tone. The sound of his voice seemed to shock the dog into movement as it turned and streaked into the woods so fast Sam stared after it. "Wow that is some speed!" He said admiringly. She picked up the empty bowl and crossed back to the porch and smiled up at him. "It just looked so pitiful and hungry that I had to give it something to eat." He smirked but didn't say anything more as they went back into the house.

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><p>The little white wolf was shivering in the forest a good mile from where it had just eaten the bowl of hot stew. When the huge human had come out on the porch the wolfdog smelled something about him that struck terror in its little being. Tucking away the information of the location and the nice human who had given food, the grungy white beast turned to the east, keeping its senses on high alert as it continued its search for its lost family.

_**I wanted to do something different, so I wrote this in the third person POV. I did however revise it to be first person POV. If you think it would be more interesting 1st person POV, leave it in the review and I may change it to that version. **_


	2. Chapter 2

There had been mountains of food made, dozens of loads of cut off shorts washed and a few things done especially for herself before Emily saw the little wolf/dog again. She had only thought of it once or twice in passing, absently wondering if it belonged to someone or was just a stray. But the business of life and other pressing matters didn't afford her much time to think about a stray dog.

When she saw it again, she was returning from her monthly grocery stock up trip. She would go into - and stock up on bulk food from Costco and restaurant depot; filling up her two chest freezers and the little shed she had the boys build for a pantry. _Being the super woman that she was_, Emily thought with a smile, she was home almost two hours earlier than she expected and would now have to deal with all the perishables alone as none of the pack would be here for an hour or more. She stepped out of the Suburban she was driving and then smiled to herself as she caught sight of a little white furry face peering at her from between the trees.

"Hey, you're back," she murmured quietly. The little wolf/dog dipped its head and whined, taking a timid step towards her. She gasped when she saw its body. In the past three weeks it had become almost skeletal; its ribs sticking out through fur that had become even more matted and dirtied since the last time she had seen it. It froze at her gasp and stopped seeming to shrink into itself blinking its eyes in a peculiar manner. Emily smiled gently at the little beast. "Are you hungry? Stay here and I'll get you something to eat.

She went quickly into the house thinking it fortuitous that there was somehow, leftovers from last night. She warmed up slices of roast venison in the microwave with a good smother of gravy. When she returned outside, the wolf/dog quivered and stepped towards her. Emily chuckled. "Don't worry, I have plenty for you." She set the plate to the right of the porch and stepped back. It circled around, giving her a wide berth and approached the food from the opposite side. It started eating but Emily noticed that it was different from a few weeks ago. It was obviously ravenous, but every other bite, the wolf/dog would stop and pant with its muzzle almost touching the ground. _Odd_, she thought. It was also holding its left leg up under itself. Frowning Emily wondered if there was something wrong with its leg.

Deciding that she needed to focus on getting all of her perishable food into the freezer and refrigerator, she turned away to cross back towards the Suburban. She almost groaned when she opened the back doors. The entire vehicle was crammed full of food products, but she was smart enough that she had divided all the dry goods and put the cold food in the back. She was only going to deal with what absolutely had to be dealt with and leave the rest for the boys to unload and put away. She smiled as she thought of their grumbles the past few weeks. They noticed that she wasn't doing every last thing for them anymore and was even going to new lengths and making them do things like help clean up after meals when there was not important business waiting for them to take care of.

Heaving out the first load she worked on putting food that needed no repackaging directly into her chest freezers and fridge. She had to admit, she really liked her pantry shed. The miniature barn doors opened to show a chest freezer against each wall and then an impressive set of shelves to hold the dry goods. Under the shelves was a row of restaurant quality bins to hold bulk food. On the left side of the shelves was a beverage fridge with a glass front to hold what ever did not fit in the house. If she had to cook as often and in such great quantity, at least she was well equipped to do so.

She took great big packs of ground beef and chicken breasts into the kitchen to divide into freezer bags. It took her less than twenty minutes to deal with almost fifty pounds of meat and she quickly transferred the new packages out to the freezer. As she was bringing in the ready made food she had purchased for supper, she noticed the wolf/dog had moved from where it had eaten and was lying between two stacks of firewood. _Hmm_, apparently it was getting comfortable around her. She smiled at its soulful face, realizing that it kind of made her feel good that this little bedraggled creature was taking a liking to her. _Of course it was probably just the food, but hey, wasn't that what the pack liked most about her anyway? Her cooking._

She truthfully didn't mind taking care of the pack. She was a nurturing person and she liked taking care of others, plus her bond with Sam made her want to take care of him and his boys, but sometimes she was just tired. She was a mere human after all. She knew the boys loved her and of course she never questioned Sam's feelings for her.

Emily walked towards the small lean-to that covered the firewood and studied the little wolf/dog. Little was relative as she was comparing it to the pack in wolf form. As it was this little wolf or dog, what ever it was, was actually quite large for a normal wolf. Emily knew she should probably be scared of getting close to what could very well be a vicious wild wolf, but there was something about the poor thing that made her feel like it needed care more than she needed caution. She looked closely at its face and realized it had bright green eyes. They were startlingly beautiful and seemed very intelligent.

She crouched down very slowly about two feet away from the wolf/dog laying timidly between the firewood. This close to it, she could hear labored breathing and saw that its eyes were clouded in a way that showed it was suffering from an illness of some kind. It pressed its chin into the ground between its paws in the most submissive almost frightened manner and Emily smiled sadly at it. She wondered if it had been domesticated and if so had been hurt or abused. Very carefully she extended her hand and let the wolf smell her hand. It blinked its eyes in that peculiar manner again and stretched its head in her direction, keeping it low to the ground.

Emily stroked the top of its head and it closed its eyes with a little huff and whine. Apparently it liked attention from a kind person. She scratched behind its ears and its gaunt cheeks. It never opened its eyes and Emily realized after a few minutes, if she could believe her eyes, it had fallen asleep. Before she could contemplate it further, she heard vehicles approaching and when she turned to look, she saw a couple of the boys run out of the woods as more of them pulled up in their cars.

She smiled at them. "Hey boys, I need a hand unloading the groceries." Brady and Seth both smiled good-naturedly while the rest of the boys nodded and move to the Suburban. Within minutes everything had been unloaded and stowed neatly in the pantry. The whole crew of them moved into the kitchen and there were whistles and groans of appreciation when they saw what was for dinner.

She had stopped at Bubba J's Texas BBQ and bought whole chickens, racks of ribs and brisket. This was accompanied by some of the best beans, coleslaw, potato wedges and corn muffins you could eat. Of course Charlene, the owner's wife who was also now a friend to Emily had included a few bottles of their house made sauce to top off everything. It actually made her feel really good when she heard the boys' reactions.

"You are the best Emily," Embry groaned as he shoved half a corn muffin in his mouth. She smiled at him, "thanks, but I didn't cook this." He shook his head, his black curls bouncing. "It doesn't matter. You still got it for us. If it wasn't for you we would starve or eat gross food." Emily laughed. "I'm sure you wouldn't be that bad off." He just grinned as he piled a plate with enough food for three grown men.

Sam and Jacob walked in as the rest of the boys were busy making their plates and Jacob smiled at her. "Hey Emily," he greeted as he too joined the fray around the table. "Hi Jacob!" Her smile and enthusiastic greeting was genuine. Jacob wasn't around as much as he used to be, so it was nice to see him. She noticed that although most of Jacob's pack was here, Leah was missing.

Sam crossed and hugged her as he kissed her and asked how her day was. She shrugged. "Pretty good, I found a lot of the things off my list on sale, so I was happy." She hugged him back and smiled, "Missed you."

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><p>The little white wolf scooted slowly from where it had been laying between the stacks of firewood and moved in a low crouch to the side of the house. It was careful to do nothing to cause pain in its left leg. Tremors shook the thin frame as fever raged through its body. Every instinct it had was crying out for the small human, wanting to feel the kind hand on its head, smell its light fragrance and see its nice smile. It had been a long, long time since the white wolf had experienced any form of kindness or human contact. In its feverish state it almost ignored its self preservation and rushed into the house. Only the smell of the huge humans kept it outside. Green eyes slowly rose to peer in the window. The wolf saw all of the humans who smelled like danger, but also like itself, eating piles of food. If it had not been so sick, the wolf would have been whining for want of the food. As it was, the bright green eyes found the form of the kind human and a very soft whine escaped its muzzle. Slinking back between the firewood, the wolf laid back down, closing its eyes, unable to fight the weariness overcoming its battered frame.<p>

_**Any thoughts... I know it's a lot different than my other stories but I hope it is enjoyed! **_


	3. Chapter 3

"Where are you going?" Sam asked curiously. Emily paused at the door and smiled absently at him. The last of the boys were bounding off the porch, joking and laughing as they all headed home or out on patrol. She shook her head, "nowhere, I'm just checking on something real quick." She stepped softly as she crossed the porch and down the few steps making her way towards the firewood stacks. Still lying in the same spot, the little wolf/dog opened its eyes and looked at her. Emily smoothed a hand over its dirty head and smiled at the furry face. "You stay here tonight and I'll give you breakfast tomorrow."

She turned to go back to the house and blushed guiltily as she saw Sam in the doorway with a little smirk. "What?" she said in her own defense. "It's so pitiful. I can't let it just starve when it looks at me with those sad eyes." Sam just shook his head as he smiled. "Just be careful Emily."

She nodded as she reached him and he dwarfed her shoulders with his arm wrapped tightly around her. "Of course," she murmured to reassure him.

0 – 0 –

It was storming. The wind howled like a banshee, rain lashed the windows and Emily tucked the pillow over her head to drown out the sounds. She didn't understand how Sam could sleep through this much noise and felt bad immediately for the wolves out on patrol. Her eyes snapped open and she let out a soundless gasp at the thought. Wolves! Oh no, the little white wolf!

As quietly as possible, she slipped out of the bed and padded down the stairs towards the front door. She flipped on the porch light but couldn't see anything through the grey curtain of rain. Sighing she went to the back door and snagged her long rain coat from the mudroom to the left and opened the door to retrieve the tall farm boots she had left on the back porch a few days ago. She frowned in confusion and leaned down a little when she saw that the thick woven mat had been dragged towards the side and was now a big lump pressed against the side of the house. Taking a cautious step over the threshold, she felt her face scrunch up. Huh?

The large rectangular rug was quivering and she reached a hand towards it as a little voice said she should really be screaming for Sam. Gingerly taking the corner of it, she pulled it back slowly. The wolf/dog was a ball of dirty wet fur, shaking so badly with its left leg stuck out at an awkward angle. Rain continued to pelt down, the wind driving it at an angle so it swept across the porch. She couldn't leave this poor animal out here. Looking over her shoulder to see if Sam had come looking for her she made a decision.

With quick movements she pulled the mat completely off of the wolf/dog and laid it with the edge over the threshold. She reached out and touched the soaking fur on its back testing for a reaction. When there was nothing more than a faint whine, she reached around its skinny body and heaved. Holy crap! It was a lot heavier than she had been expecting. As carefully as she could, she scooted, pushed and pulled with sheer determination until she had the creature on the mat. Taking hold of the mat's corners she dragged it into the mudroom. She quickly shut the back door to keep out the wind and rain before returning to see how the poor beast was. It was lying on the mat, its chest rising with shallow breaths. Emily knew there was nothing to be done tonight, but tomorrow she could call a vet. Reaching up to a high shelf, she retrieved two old blankets that were used for the beach or picnics and rolled one up to lay around the wolf/dog. She shook out the second, an old polar fleece with running horses on it and covered the shivering body with it.

It would only be another minute or two before Sam realized she had been gone longer than just to the bathroom or to get a drink, so she shucked off her rain jacket and boots and hurried out of the mudroom, closing the door securely. She stopped at the kitchen sink to wash the grime from her hands and then made her way upstairs quickly.

When she slid back into bed, Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "You're freezing," he mumbled. Emily smiled. It wouldn't be for long as she could already feel his intense heat start to warm her through to her bones.

Emily had an internal alarm clock since she was very young. She woke up really early every morning. If there was nothing to be done, she could fall back asleep fairly easily. She was always amused by her complete oppositeness to Sam. He loved to sleep. He had to have at least two alarms and he hit the snooze button so many times before finally getting up with a grumble. Apparently it was kind of a wolf thing, because the others in the pack seemed to like sleep as much as Sam. This morning there was no going back to sleep for Emily.

She rushed as she dressed and got ready for the day. She hurried down the stairs and directly to the mudroom. Cracking the door, she peered in to make sure there wasn't a pissed off wolf/dog ready to attack. With a sigh she pushed open the door and crossed to the still figure in the middle of the floor. Pulling back the blanket a little, Emily was relieved to see that not only had the wolf/dog stopped shivering, it was also lying in a comfortable position and its breathing seemed to be much less labored than during the night. It was still sleeping though, so Emily backed out of the room and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.

A few hours later, there was a loud happy gathering in her kitchen. Everyone it seemed was there. Sam, Paul, Jared, Collin, Brady, Jacob, Seth, Quil, Embry. Kim and Rachel had come over also. Saturday mornings were a nice time to have a huge brunch and then do something fun. The girls had helped Emily put out the massive breakfast that everyone was now happily partaking of. No one was paying attention as she made a plate of soft scrambled eggs and torn pieces of bacon and sausage. She quietly went to the mud room and opened the door slowly. There had been no noticeable change in the blanket pile and she set down the plate. She peeled back the blanket and touched the still head gently. She didn't know why she felt such a compulsion to take care of this… mongrel, but she just did. It didn't move but continued to sleep so she stood with a sigh and left the room the plate still on the floor.

"Who're you hiding in the laundry room?" Emily looked up with a start as she reentered the kitchen. Everyone had turned to look at her. Paul, who had asked the question, received a sharp jab in the ribs from Rachel. Emily frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He smirked. "Well you headed down there a second ago with a plate of food and you don't have it now so I just assumed you were feeding someone in there."

"Jeez, shut up Paul!" Jared was looking at Emily then Sam and back to Paul. Sam was really still and she felt herself flush as her eyes met his. "Um, it's not somebody," she hedged and Sam started to smile. _Darn, he knew. _

"Emily has a little pet. Apparently she moved it in the house during the storm last night." He chuckled. "I thought you were gone for a long time." She pursed her lips and crossed to the counter full of food. She started making neat little piles of different foods.

"Well, its sick or hurt or something, and it had crawled up onto the porch and underneath the woven mat so I couldn't just leave it out in that weather!" Her defense was met with a scoff from Paul. "We were out in that weather." She rolled her eyes at him. While love had mellowed him a little Paul was still Paul.

"Yeah, well, you're not sick or hurt are you?" He laughed and continued to shovel food from his plate to his mouth. Everyone ate heartily and talked throughout the leisure breakfast. Without even having to ask, all the boys pitched in to help clean up everything. Emily took the opportunity to check once more on the wolf/dog. When she opened the mudroom door she saw the blanket moving in jerky motions. She rushed over and removed it. Her eyes widened and she inhaled swiftly. It had changed positions and it was lying on its left side, half way on its belly. And down its left front leg was an angry red wound. Even to her untrained eyes she could see it was severely infected and badly swollen.

"Sam!" she called softly, knowing that he could hear her clearly from where he was in the living room. She reached out and touched the paw of the injured leg. The wolf/dog whimpered and jerked and its eyes opened. Though it was just an animal, Emily could clearly see pain and fright in the green eyes. She smiled sadly and the wolf blinked in its peculiar way. "I'm just going to look at your leg okay?" she whispered in a warm gentle tone. The wolf seemed to shrink in on itself as it blinked again and kept staring at her. Emily heard footsteps coming from the living room as she reached out again and gently grasped the leg so she could turn it a little to see the wound better. There was a yelping whine that turned into a shriek and Emily felt her heart stop in her chest.

The little white wolf couldn't think. Every instinct, _everything_ was drowned out by raging heat and agonizing pain. It felt a presence near but couldn't even summon a defense. Then it smelled her. It was the kind human. The little white wolf felt the slight vibration as she knelt next to it. "Sam," the gentle voice made a sound too quiet to be startling, but the little white wolf wouldn't have reacted even had it been loud. There was nothing but misery and pain. A light touch caressed the exposed paw of the hurt leg and the wolf let out a whimper as it involuntarily jerked at the searing agony that shot up from the point of contact. It opened its eyes and saw her face above and the wolf blinked at the kind expression.

"I'm just going to look at your leg okay?" the gentle voice once again spread over the little white wolf's mind in a soothing noise. The wolf tensed as it felt something hurtful coming but kept its bright green eyes on the kind human face. There was thudding footfalls as the kind hand reached and grasped the injured leg, explosive pain like fire and knives coming from the whisper of her small hand. The pitiful creature had no capacity to withstand the agony any longer. Its body instinctively took over, doing the only thing it could to stop the pain and heal itself.

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><p>The little white wolf yelped as it felt its body tightening, righting itself for the first time in five years as the kind hand turned its injured leg with earth shattering pain. The yelping gave way to a shriek as the wolf's body tightened to an unbearable level and then there was dead silence.<p>

**_Is it too obvious where this is headed? I wanted it to be a little cliffhanger. _**


	4. Chapter 4

"Sam," Emily gasped, not sure that she was seeing right. Her heart was pounding and she was sure she was going to pass out. She pulled her hand back to her body as she fell backwards. Oh my god, oh my god! She breathed heavily and stared. She felt the air move as Sam lifted her and set her behind him and saw that Jacob was next to him as well. Both men were standing stiffly just staring at the sight in front of them. "We have to do something," Emily said in an urgent tone. At the sound of her voice there was a pitiful groan and a pair of beautiful, clouded green eyes opened searching for her.

She couldn't help but step forward, needing to help. "No," Sam bit out, his arm coming up to halt her progress. She looked at him pleadingly. "Sam, look at the arm! We need to help." Sam tightened his jaw as he looked at Emily. She smiled tightly. "Sam, it's not going to hurt me." He looked back at the inert form on the ground and then to Jacob, who merely stared back at him. Emily ducked under his arm and knelt down again. "Oh my goodness," she whispered as she looked closely without shock and adrenaline fueling her system.

There was no way to avert your eyes from the horrendous wound on the left extremity. She had never seen anything like it in her whole life. But this was not what was so astonishing. What was such a shock was what had happened when she had touched the wounded leg. When the yelping shriek split the air, the wolf's body had tensed to an unnatural degree and in that heart stopping moment the filthy matted fur of its body had stood straight on end before it seemed to vanish as the battered wolf form shimmered and melted.

The curled body with the ghastly wound was smooth and very small. Its position hid any identifying characteristics and the dark hair, matted and dirty, was no clear length. Emily felt her heart constrict painfully in her chest and her eyes burned. _Oh my God!_ She felt helpless. _What could they do?_

"We've got to get Carlisle to help," she heard Jacob say in a stunned whisper. She looked up and saw that the doorway was crowded with the rest of the pack who stared with mouths agape. Sam nodded sharply and Jacob turned, pushing his way through the small crowd of people. Emily looked at Sam and saw that his eyes were tense; with worry, confusion and protectiveness.

"We need to move them," she said quietly. He shook his head no with a sharp snap. "No, nothing is to be done until Dr. Cullen arrives." He stepped forward and grasped my arm. "You need to move out of the way Emily," he said in a strained voice. Knowing that he was reaching a critical anxiety level, she stood and stepped close to him, taking his large hot hand in her own and squeezing to comfort him. She didn't want him to phase out of stress and anger and accidently hurt the defenseless creature shaking on their mudroom floor.

"Carlisle is already on his way," Jacob said, stepping back to the doorway. No one said anything as they all stood trying to take in what had just happened. Emily released Sam's hand from her own as she stepped forward and drew the blanket back over the small body, leaving only the head and wounded limb exposed. Her eyes never left the heartrending scene as she stepped back close to Sam, once again giving him physical contact as a calming measure. She had never seen so much grime and filth clinging to a body before and she was itching to draw a bath to remedy the horrific situation. There was no accounting for time as it seemed to hang suspended in the air. No one made a move to return to the living area and the only sound in the room was the bated breath of twelve people.

Emily didn't think she had ever experienced such a tense wait for anything in her life, but much sooner than she was expecting, she heard the purr of a powerful engine. Jacob left the room and she heard his swift movements to the front door and then murmurs that she was not able to decipher. There was a shift in the room as a path was made for Dr. Cullen. Emily glanced at him and as always she was stunned at the sight of him. He was so pale his skin almost seemed to be pearly. His face never changed from its perfect symmetry and his hair was combed back in a platinum coif which was also perfect. He was dressed in clothes which could not be mistaken for anything other than the most expensive designer. His jacket and scarf leant him an almost genteel air, although that was probably from the doctor himself. Never in her life had she met someone who was a more gentle righteous soul.

He nodded and smiled at her as his eyes skimmed over to Sam. They shared a nod of greeting before the medical professional in him surfaced and Dr. Cullen turned to the wounded being on the floor. "Oh my," he said almost too quietly to hear. He knelt down swiftly and looked up to Sam. "Perhaps you should be on one side in case our patient does not appreciate my efforts."

Sam nodded once and looked to Jacob. "Jake, you take Carlisle's side?" Jake nodded and moved to kneel beside Dr. Cullen, giving him plenty of room to work. Sam pushed Emily back to the wall. "Stay Emily, please," he whispered with a frantic look. She nodded to assure him and he moved to kneel behind the inert form.

The pack with Emily, Rachel and Kim watched as Dr. Cullen leaned forward and sniffed carefully. Although it seemed a bit weird, it was quite effective. By that olfactory test he was able to determine quite a few things. As Emily thought, there was indeed a raging infection in the wound. He could tell from the odor some of the bacteria causing the grievous complication to an already horrific injury. Carlisle touched the unharmed flesh around the gaping wound and inhaled at the heat which radiated from it. There was a groan from the brief touch of his one finger and he swiftly turned to his medical bag.

"You may need to restrain for this," he said to Sam and Jacob. He extracted a syringe and a bottle which Emily assumed was a painkiller. He filled the entire syringe and grimaced. "From experience, I think this will take a good deal of morphine, however with the size difference, I don't want to overdo it." He looked quickly to Jacob and then Sam. They both nodded that they were alert and ready.

Carlisle cold white hand grasped searing hot flesh and in the fastest movements Emily had every witnessed had expelled the entire plunger of medicine into the twitching body. From what she knew, she was sure he had administered it to the correct vein. Her mind knew that as a vampire he was capable of sure movements and skill, but she still was dumbfounded to witness the lightning fast speed which he had moved. Jacob and Sam hadn't needed to intervene as it seemed that there was no resistance to Dr. Cullen's ministrations. The tensely held body suddenly slumped into a boneless mass against the floor and he reached again for the injured extremity.

No quickening of breath, not a sound or movement came in protest. "I need some hot water and the black case from the trunk of my car," Carlisle spoke quickly and Emily saw Seth nod.

"I'll get them he said." A moment later the kitchen faucet turned on and the front screen door slammed shut. Another moment and the sound of water hitting a vessel rather than the sink bottom was followed by Seth reappearing in the room, stainless steel bowl in one hand and the handle of a large black case in the other. He set both down by Dr. Cullen who opened the case, removed a brown bottle and poured some of the contents into the bowl. It had a foul medicinal smell and turned the water cloudy. He ripped the top from a paper package and took a stack of gauze squares from it. He dipped them into the water before working quickly to clean the wound.

Emily reached into the utility sink to her left and retrieved a small basin from it. She held it out to Jake. "Here, he can put the used ones in here." Jacob took it and set it to the side. Carlisle worked at a rapid pace, thankful that he didn't have to pace himself in light of human eyes. Everyone witness to this was well versed in what he was and was capable of. Within moments, the wound was cleansed as well as possible and he kept working to drain and debris it.

Emily thought for sure she was going to be sick. As Dr. Cullen used a scalpel and other medical tools to deal with the nasty injury a sick smell filled the room. She saw both Rachel and Kim cover their faces and back out of the room. Even a few of the boys backed up in disgust. So she just held her breath and breathed by putting her nose into her sleeve. It smelled like Downy and the breakfast she had cooked.

In a shockingly short amount of time, Dr. Cullen was sewing close the massive wound with expert stitches, working at a speed so incredible his hands were a blur as he did so. She stared in wonder as not even twenty minutes after he had arrived, he was deftly wrapping the limb with a padding of gauze.

"I would like to do a complete examination," Carlisle spoke quietly to Sam. Sam nodded in response. Carlisle reached to flip the unconscious body over. "Wait!" Emily's voice was low but urgent. Every head turned to look at her. She pointed at the door. "Everyone except Sam and Jake, out!" There were looks of surprise and a few opened their mouths to protest when a steely look came over her face. With a little grumbling the rest of the pack complied, moving down the hallway to the living room.

Jacob, Sam and Dr. Cullen were looking at her when she closed the door. "Okay," she said to them. There was a reason she had sent the others out, she just had a feeling. Emily nodded at Carlisle. "Go ahead." He studied her a fraction longer and then looked back to his patient. With sure hands he flipped them over. Sam and Jacob's eyes widened and Emily knew she had been right.

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><p>The little white wolf was floating. There was only a dull throb of pain now. Cold hard objects touched it in an odd rhythm and there was a strange pattern of push and pull against the injured part of its body. The little white wolf felt the presence of many others, but for the first time in five years there was no sense of fear accompanying them. Something hummed within its blood, making everything pleasantly muted. The wolf could not remember a time when it had been so relaxed, so fearless, so comfortable and safe and decided right there that wherever they were, they never wanted to leave this place.<p>

**_So, next chapter is all the exact details. Guessed what happened yet? :) I'd love to hear your thoughts. _**


	5. Chapter 5

**So how are you liking the story so far? Hope to hear reviews from people. :)**

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><p>Sam thought there was nothing in this situation that could have shocked him further. Boy was he wrong. When Dr. Cullen turned the unconscious form over he felt his jaw drop. His mind had already put forth a picture of what it was expecting but this what not what it had envisioned.<p>

He had been talking with Jake in the living room when he heard Emily say his name quietly. He had rushed to see what was wrong. She was kneeling next to the little stray and was reaching out to the injured limb. "I'm just going to look at your leg okay," she said in a gentle voice, almost like she was talking to a child. She turned it and at that moment an agonized yelp coming from the stray morphed into an awful scream. Sam was used to the supernatural, the unexplained and the just downright unbelievable, but he was still shocked when the grungy – what he thought was just a stray dog – phased into a shaking little human form.

He heard Jacob gasp beside him and he blinked once and gave his head a hard shake. _Damn!_ _Oh my god; Emily was right next to the thing!_ He reacted at the same time she let out his name in a gasp and fell backward. He snatched her up, setting her behind him as Jacob stepped forward to stand next to him, both men fully on guard. Emily hadn't listened to him and went right back to the little – _what was it anyway?_ You couldn't see any gender markings due to the position it was huddled in. Jacob had called Dr. Cullen immediately and they, along with the rest of the pack and Rachel and Kim had all stood in shocked silence just watching as the little person laid there doing nothing.

It had been surprisingly quick for Carlisle to clean and stitch the horrific wound after giving them enough morphine to tranquilize a horse. When he had asked permission to do a full examination and moved to turn it over, Emily had objected and sent everyone out except Jake and Sam. He had briefly wondered why but looked back down to the small form laying by his knees as the cold doctor turned it right side up. Both Sam and Jacob stared in shock. Even Carlisle sucked in a quick breath.

_It was a girl!_ Not only was it a girl, but it was a child. Sam had considered Brady and Collin children when they phased, but they had been twelve and thirteen. This child – girl couldn't be more than nine years old. _Holy Crap! This was so bad._ _Where had she come from? Who was she? Was she related to the tribe in some way? _As these thoughts were racing through his stupefied brain, Emily had moved back and was keeling next to the small dirty head as Dr. Cullen did a thorough examination. Carlisle had recovered remarkably quick and seemed to be viewing the situation as nothing very out of the ordinary. Of course he _had_ been living almost four hundred years. He had probably seen and encountered much more shocking events in his lifetime.

Every instinct in Sam wanted to take Emily from this situation immediately but he also knew that no matter how sweet and laid back she seemed, when she set her mind to something she was one of the most stubborn people he had ever encountered.

"There doesn't seem to be any other visible injuries and without an x-ray or CT scan, I can't be absolutely sure there is no damage to any of the organs. It doesn't seem like there is, although she does have an infection and also a high fever." Dr. Cullen smiled at Sam. "I don't think I have seen a temperature of 116 degrees on a living child before." Emily sucked in a harsh breath.

"Is she going to live?" she whispered from between numb lips. Carlisle pursed his lips looking thoughtful. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe she has a good chance. Her body seems to already be healing itself quickly like the boys when they're hurt. I don't know how long it has been since she was wounded, but it had to be at least a week for it to become as bad off as it was."

He replaced some things in his medical case and put the rest of the medical waste into the basin Emily had provided. "She seems to be under quite deeply. The combination of the morphine and trauma has her body trying to heal and protect itself through sleep. I would recommend having someone stay with her at all times." Emily nodded enthusiastically, "I will make sure she is taken care of." He smiled kindly at her.

Sam sighed patiently as he had taken the meaning of Dr. Cullen's advice differently. "I or one of the others will be here also." Carlisle nodded as he rose to his feet. "I will come by later to check in. I'm heading home now to check on my own little one." Sam nodded with a rueful chuckle. "Was discovering her as shocking for you as this is for me?"

Carlisle laughed in response. "Not quite. We had forewarning of her arrival, but there have been elements that are unexpected and honestly, almost frightening at times." He shook his head at his own thoughts before addressing Sam again. "I have no doubt that you all will take excellent care of her. Perhaps when she wakes up she will be able to tell you who she is and where she came from." Sam frowned down at the child lying still on the dirty mat. It was just registering in his mind that this was an actual person who could think, speak and feel. That aspect was more frightening than dealing with the wolf part of it.

With a nod to Emily and Sam, Dr. Cullen turned to exit the room. "Jacob, I realize that this may not be the most convenient time, but when ever you are able, we would like for you to come meet Leila." Jacob looked surprised and then nodded. "Um yeah; okay, I'll come over soon." Carlisle nodded once in response before leaving. A moment later, his car purred to life and drove away.

"We need to put her on something more comfortable than this, and I need to clean her up." Sam was jerked from his own thoughts at Emily's quiet voice. She stood from where she had been kneeling and crossed to the door. "I'm getting a few things, I'll be right back." She left and Sam and Jacob looked at each other unsure how to proceed. With everything that had happened in the last few years, they were still unprepared for this exact scenario.

"We should call your dad," Sam said to Jake who nodded.

"Yeah, this is crazy," he agreed. He pulled out his cell phone and called Billy.

Emily came back into the laundry/mudroom as he was hanging up the phone. Her arms were loaded with so much stuff she had to crane her neck around the pile to see where she was going. Sam immediately took the burden from her hands and deposited it on the counter she used for laundry. Before he could quiz her about the odd assortment of things, she pointed to the highest shelf. "Can you get that please?" indicating a rolled up foam mattress. He swept it down easily and untied the cloth tape that held it cylindrically. Emily had already spread out a woven horse blanket on the floor and took the foam from his hand to unroll it on top. Within a few minutes she had made a temporary bed that looked so inviting, Sam would have gladly slept in it.

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><p><em>Should she be scared that she felt so peaceful?<em> There was a part of her unconscious mind that said there was potential danger around, but she couldn't summon the energy to fight back against the exhaustion and narcotic haze. She had been tired for so long, always sleeping half alert for the danger that felt like it was everywhere. She just wanted a home. She wanted to be safe and not be hungry all the time. The scents that had made her feel unsure now gave her a measure of comfort. They smelled almost familiar and she wasn't sure why. She heard the noise of their voices as they spoke to each other, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. She was too tired. The air stirred around her in an unfamiliar way that made her slightly unsure but she could not put enough effort into figuring out why. When cool gentle hands touched her again she sighed with an emotional too complex to name. Blessed rest invaded every cell in her body for the first time in years.


	6. Chapter 6

**I usually don't bitch about it, but no one is reviewing and now I think that this must suck... I guess I should just stick to my Cullen stories. Oh well, I gave it a shot.**

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><p>Emily's sweet nature belied the spine of steel she possessed and at that moment in time she was immensely grateful for that little fact. Inside she was absolutely stunned by the events of the past hour but she was using every ounce of her will to project a calm front. If Sam thought she was freaking out even a tiny bit, he would shuttle her out of the room instantly and leave the little girl to the tender mercies of the floor. No matter what exactly she was or where she came from, she was just a child who needed someone to care for her and Emily was determined to be that someone. When she finished attending to this poor girl she could lock herself in the bathroom for a silent hyperventilation session. Just thinking that made her feel marginally better, her mind appreciating the fact that she was admitting her own feelings and allowing herself time later to react to them in a healthy manner.<p>

As soon as she finished making a pallet on the floor, she filled a basin with lukewarm water adding a squirt of the body wash she had retrieved from her shower. She got a small bucket from the cabinet and put fresh water in it. Directing Jacob and Sam, she had the girl laid on a large beach towel when Rachel came in. "Hey, I can help if you need me," she said in a quite voice. Emily smiled her thanks and Rachel knelt hesitantly next to the supine body. Jacob had told the others what had been discovered and everyone else was just as surprised that it had turned out to be girl and not a boy as most had assumed.

_I wonder what Leah will think of this,_ Emily thought. She knew her cousin had been despondent for a long while at being the only female wolf and it pained her that there was nothing she could do to help Leah. Maybe knowing that there was another like her, would give her a measure of hope or something; then again maybe not. It would probably enrage Leah to see a child turned into what she vehemently detested. Emily sighed as she began to wash the small body, being extra careful to keep the new bandage dry. Dr. Cullen had done a remarkable job of cleaning and fixing the wound and the clean arm stood out against the rest of her filthy self.

With both Emily and Rachel working, it took a considerable amount of time and several changes of the water before she was clean. Emily left her hair for the end and had Sam hold her with her head suspended above the utility sink as she worked quickly and gently to cleanse it. The bottom of the white plastic sink was covered in a layer of tiny twigs, bits of leaves and an unbelievable amount of dirt and grit_. When was the last time she had bathed?_ Emily wondered in silence. When she had it clean to a satisfactory degree, Rachel was ready with a towel to wring the excess moisture from it. Emily was surprised at how long her hair was.

In both wolf and human form, her fur/hair had been so matted it was unclear what its true color and length were. Now Emily could see that in human form, her hair was a dark, dark brown with russet highlights. She was sure that it would be glorious in the sunlight. She wondered if the girl's wolf form would be white now that she was clean.

"She's starting to make me sweat," Sam muttered as Emily shut off the tap and turned to the counter. She glanced back over her shoulder with a little smile. "Lay her on the bed now." Sam crouched down and laid the girl down so gently it made Emily sigh. _He would be such a good daddy,_ she thought. He breathed out a relieved sigh. "She is scorching hot!"

Emily took the small pair of knit shorts and thin tank top she had gotten from her dresser and eyed them critically. They would swallow the girl's little frame but they were the smallest garments she owned. There was no resistance as she pulled the shorts up the painfully thin legs. Rachel lifted the small torso so she could slide on the shirt. She felt every rib in the little body as she pulled the white cotton down. When they laid her back against the down pillow, Emily swore there was a faint sigh from parched lips. Everything about this child screamed of hurt and sorrow and abandoned neglect. If she could find the person responsible for this she would rip them apart… or maybe have Sam do it for her.

Rachel stood next to her peering down at the unconscious little one. "Besides her wound and obvious starvation, she's so cute. How could someone do this to her?" Her soft voice was troubled and Emily saw her brow was furrowed in mild distressed. Emily squeezed her shoulder. "I don't know, but they will pay for it." Emily's mind was already wandering to all of the worst case scenarios that could happen.

_What if they figured out who she was and Child Services came and took her to give back to the person who was responsible for her current condition. _Emily knew that was ridiculous though. She wouldn't be returned to the person responsible for this, but besides that fact, Sam and the elders would not hand over a shifter to the government.

_What if she woke up and was so terrified of all of them that she phased and tried to run away? What if she did and she was chased down. Would she fight or just come back? _

Emily didn't even know her name, but she wanted to protect her and make sure that for every moment of unhappiness she had experienced in her young life, there would be something good to remember in its place.

"My dad's here," Jake's statement pulled her out of her mind. She nodded absently at him. When she turned with the others to leave the room Sam looked at her surprised. She smiled slightly. "I'll leave the door open. I don't think she'll wake up in the next few minutes." He seemed pleased at her response and squeezed her shoulder as he headed with her to the main living area.

To Emily it felt as if it had been ages since she had left the kitchen to check on the little stray wolf/dog. She blinked at the surreal feeling when she saw the leftover scones from breakfast sitting on a plate. Billy was regarding them with a shrewd, worried look. She was content to let Sam and Jacob explain things to him. When she was asked a question directly she answered but otherwise she was lost in thought.

"I would like to see her now." She looked at Billy startled from her wanderings and nodded immediately. He was looking at Sam who nodded before leading the way back to the mudroom. Billy wheeled into the room after Sam and Emily and she saw the rest of the guys come in to see also. Emily followed their sight line and looked down at the small body, studying every detail as if it was the first time she had seen her.

The little girl was around four and a half feet tall. In her present condition she couldn't have weighed more than fifty pounds. Her coloring was the hue of the Quileute's but several shades lighter. She had high cheekbones and slightly tilted almond shaped eyes that Emily knew held the most beautiful mesmerizing color when she was awake. Her nose was just the right size for her little face, straight with the tip just barely tilted. She had a perfect Cupid's bow mouth that was rosy pink. She was completely adorable and Emily couldn't help but wonder how any human being could hurt a child.

Billy was leaning forward in his wheel chair, intently studying the peaceful face. "There is something familiar about her." He murmured more to himself than the rest of us.

Jacob looked at him in surprise. "You know who she is?"

His father shook his head. "No. I don't know who she is, but she looks familiar somehow." Everyone continued to look at the girl each mind having its own curiosities and scenarios. Emily heard the screen door in front bounce shut and looked at Sam quizzically.

"It must be Sue and Quil Sr."

Sure enough, the thicket of bodies parted to reveal the two elders. Quil Sr. entered first, his wise eyes taking in the scene. Jacob had called them after he had called Billy. They just lived a little further from Sam's house.

Sue stopped dead the moment she laid eyes on the child. "Oh! Oh my good gracious!" She exclaimed as her knees began to buckle. Seth looked alarmed at his mother's reaction and leapt forward to place a secure arm around her. She leaned into him and moaned. "Oh no, I can't believe it." Tears filled her dark eyes in liquid pools and we looked at her in shock, every single person frozen in place.

_Bang_, the screen door was like a gun shot in the room. "Hey, what the heck is everyone doing back there?" Still no one moved at the irritated, confused voice. There was a momentary pause in the approaching foot steps. They continued and stopped dead in the space that had been cleared to let the elders pass into the room. The owner of the footsteps' eyes went wide and the scone in their hand dropped unnoticed to the floor.

"Holy shit!" The whisper was incredulous. "It's Hannie!"

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><p><strong>Let me know how I'm doing so far. This story is way far out of my comfort zone, so I'm a little insecure about it. Any guesses who walked in last and recognized the girl? :)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everybody! Thank you for reading this far. Please let me know what you think about the story if you have a second. Hopefully I'll have a new folder of pictures ** for this story** put up tomorrow on my photo share page. I'll post a link in a new chapter when I have it compiled.**

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><p>"Hannie?" Billy asked in a shocked whisper.<p>

Sue moaned and nodded. "I thought she was dead, it has been so long I was sure she couldn't be alive!" Emily felt her mouth literally hanging open in shock. She looked from Sue back to the little girl and studied her features. Now that she really looked at her and thought back in time, she realized that they were right. It _was_ Hannie.

Johannah -Hannie- Bailey was the daughter of Harry Clearwater's cousin Kaiya. When she was eight years old, her mother had been murdered and she had gone missing. It was the most devastating thing that had happened to the Clearwater's until Harry had his heart attack and died. Now Sue and Leah were staring in horror at the unconscious girl and Seth's mouth dropped open. He knew Hannie when they were little but he hadn't seen her in over nine years.

"They said she was missing, that whoever killed Kaiya had taken her." Sue was overwhelmed with emotion. Her little niece, who they all thought had come to a horrible end, was alive! Not only was she alive, she was still a child _and_ she was a werewolf.

Sam was looking at her with concern. "Perhaps we should go out to the living room so we can sit," he spoke calmly. This revelation was beyond shocking. Everyone on the reservation knew the story of Kaiya Clearwater; her murder almost eight years ago and how her daughter Johannah had gone missing at the same time. Johannah had just celebrated her eighth birthday when it had occurred.

_What had happened to make her phase into a wolf? Where had she been all these years? _

Everyone was silent as they processed this new twist to an already shocking story. Responding to Sam's suggestion, there was a shift and shuffle as everyone moved out into the living room. Leah however, stepped further into the room and dropped down next to the supine girl. She stretched out a shaking hand and touched Johannah's forehead with one fingertip to see if this was just a mere figment of her imagination.

"Oh Hannie, what happened to you?" Her whisper was tortured. Johannah had been one of Leah's favorite people in the whole world. When Kaiya could afford to, she had brought her daughter back to the reservation to visit with Harry and his family. Although Leah was six years older than her cousin, she had taken a shine to the little girl. It was Leah who had been affected the most when the Clearwater's had found out about Kaiya's death and Johannah disappearing.

Emily knew Leah would not appreciate it if she tried to comfort her so she stood in the doorway unsure if she should leave or stay. Everyone else had already made it to the living room and she could hear them talking. Leah ran a hand over Johannah's head.

"Why is she like this? She's the same size as she was eight years ago!" Although she was whispering, the words were a harsh explosion from Leah. Emily bit her lip.

"She came around the house two times and I fed her. I thought she was a stray wolf or dog but when I tried to tend her hurt leg she phased back to this." Leah was staring at Emily now, absolutely horrified by the words that had just come out of her cousin's mouth. "She phased! Like, she was a wolf!" Emily bit her lip again nodding affirmative to her cousin. Leah looked like she would explode any second but as she stared back down at the little girl; Emily could see her emotions as they passed through her eyes. The good Leah, the one nobody saw anymore because of her hurt and bitterness, was there in the look of sorrow and compassion.

"I'll be out with the others," Emily said softly giving Leah some privacy to collect her scattered wits. Leah nodded sharply and moved from her knees to sit cross legged on the floor. She picked up a thin hand and was surprised at the intense heat radiating from it.

Whether it was the morphine wearing off or the feeling of a hand cooler than her own, Johannah moved slightly in her sleep and her eyelids fluttered. Emily froze in the doorway, watching anxiously to see if she would wake up as Leah leaned forward.

"Hannie?" Leah whispered gently. The girl stirred once more as she turned her head on the pillow but her eyes remained closed. Emily felt as disappointed as Leah looked and she turned away to go into the living room.

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><p>"You are absolutely sure it is your niece?" Sam was speaking to Sue who now wore a tear streaked face. "Yes, completely sure, it is definitely Johannah."<p>

Sam nodded before looking to Billy and Quil Sr. "She is one of us, her only living relatives are Sue, Leah and Seth. We need to take care of her." The last sentence was equal parts statement and question. He was differing to the elders out of respect, but as the Alpha of the La Push wolf pack, he was taking her on as his responsibility. Both men nodded their agreement.

"Of course we will take care of her. She is our own." Quil Sr. spoke up in confirmation. Seth sat on the arm of the couch next to his mother, holding her hand. "Is she going to live with us?" he asked eagerly. Emily was disconcerted to see her Aunt as distressed as she was, but she could understand why. Sensing that Sue was not in the frame of mind to start talking logistics of living arrangements and care giving, Emily quickly jumped in the conversation.

"Why don't we let her heal and recover here and when she wakes up we can start thinking long term." Seth smiled warmly at her and nodded. "Yeah, sure; I just can't believe we found her; or she found us; or whatever. I was like six when she went missing. It's just kind of weird that all the sudden it's like, "here she is!" And it's weirder that she looks almost exactly the same."

There were grins and a few low chuckles at his runaway chatter, but no one minded his little speech. Seth's personality was warm and open, making people feel at ease around him. Sue squeezed her son's hand. "I can't believe it either. I'm just… I don't even know; my mind can hardly process it."

She looked up to Emily. "Where is Leah?" Emily glanced over her shoulder down the short hall. "She's sitting with her." Sue nodded and a worried frown pinched her face. "I am almost scared of how this is going to affect her. She was completely destroyed when we told her what happened. And now, knowing that Hannie is a wolf and not knowing what happened to her during all this time…" Her speech trailed off as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I never thought of this outcome, I don't even know what to do or what to think of it." Sam laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we just concentrate right now on helping her get well and then we can hopefully find out everything when she wakes up." Emily was proud of the way Sam was stepping up and taking charge of the situation. Sue looked at him gratefully and nodded. "Yes, of course."

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><p>There was someone with her; someone who made her feel safe and loved. She recognized the scent of the person, but could not remember the face attached to it. Johannah was warm and comfortable. She was sleeping on something so soft and she pressed herself impossible close to the bedding allowing the comfort of such foreign luxury to ooze into her pores.<p>

There wasn't such a heavy haze over her mind now, but she was still so tired and couldn't open her eyes. Her arm had gone from searing agony to a steady ache that while painful, was much more bearable. She wanted so badly to open her eyes and see the face belonging to the familiar smell, but exhaustion held her under, her body forcing her to accept the much needed healing of sleep. She sighed as she relaxed fully. She really hoped _they_ were still with her when she woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

Fourteen hours and nineteen minutes after she first sat down next to Johannah, Leah's vigil was rewarded. Carlisle had come and gone twice, Emily had brought her food several times and Seth had come to sit with her, bearing cushions. She had accepted them because her butt was totally asleep. Jacob had come in and talked to her for a few minutes and a couple of the others had stopped in out of sheer curiosity. Leah refused to leave the girl; well she did go to the bathroom twice; but other than that, she was determined that the moment Hannie opened her eyes she would see someone who loved her. It was the least that could be done for her after God knows what happened to her all these years.

Leah was lost in thought as she stared at the small face when she saw the first fluttering of dark eyelids. She sat up straight, staring intently as the almond shaped eyes slowly opened. Brilliant green irises stared unfocused as long black lashes blinked away sleepiness. Leah smiled as Johannah focused in on her face. A tiny frown of confusion marred the young brow as she stared at Leah.

"Hi," Leah breathed on a whisper not wanting to frighten the little girl. Hannie continued to stare at her with a peculiar look on her face. Leah kept a gentle smile on her face so her younger cousin wouldn't feel threatened or scared. "How do you feel? Would you like some water?" Emily had brought in a cup and pitcher earlier in case she woke up thirsty. Thin shoulders hunched as Hannie closed her eyes. Leah felt a combination of panic and despair. _She doesn't remember me!_

"It's Leah, Hannie. Do you remember me? I'm your cousin Leah." Green eyes opened to stare at her again and Leah saw the moment the confusion in her mind cleared. Her eyes widened before her face dropped like she was going to cry and she leaned up towards Leah who scooped her up immediately. Leah held her tight as she shook silently. She wasn't crying, it was like she was so overwhelmed she was numb.

Leah felt tears stinging her eyes and desperately tried to keep them at bay. She felt Johannah squeeze her in a frantic hug, her spindly arms were blazing hot against her shoulders. As she shook, she breathed in little gasping breaths and Leah felt her heart turn over in her chest.

_What had happened to her all this time?_ It was almost unbearable for her to think of all the horrendous things that could have been done to her little cousin. She was so small, Leah could feel the ribs down her sides and all of her bones jutted out in sharp relief. She looked almost as terrible as Bella had at the end of her pregnancy. They would have to feed her tons of food, maybe give her high protein drinks to get her weight to a normal level. If she was a wolf like the rest of them, she had to have a good appetite. Leah winced as she imagined Johannah starving and looking for food in desperation. _What had she eaten if she even found anything? Was she alone? Was there_ _someone feeding her?_ If there was, _was it worse for her to be with them than be on her own?_ Her mind was going a hundred miles a minute, each new thought making her feel worse and worse.

"Hannie?" she whispered. Johannah hugged her tighter, her eyes squeezed shut and her lips parted as she panted. Leah thought she might be having a serious panic attack. Right when she thought about calling for someone to help her, Emily walked in the door. It was early morning and she was getting ready to start breakfast. Her eyes widened when she saw Leah and Hannie, "oh my goodness, when did she wake up?" At the sound of her voice Johannah opened her eyes and stared silently at her.

Leah looked at Emily. "Maybe ten minutes ago," she shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. She's freaking out though. Is my mom coming over this morning?" Emily nodded and then shook her head. "Yes, I mean no. Um, she and Seth slept over here last night. She's in the guest room, Seth crashed on the couch. Do you want me to get her?" Leah looked down at Johannah. Her little cousin had stopped shaking and was staring intently at Emily. A pang of something very close to jealousy darted through Leah and she squashed it quickly. _Now was not the time for her own problems to get in the way of taking care of Hannie._

Emily smiled kindly at Johannah. "How do you feel?" There was no verbal response, but as if on cue there was a loud grumble from her stomach. Both Leah and Emily smiled. "Are you hungry?" Emily asked. Johannah blinked twice and looked at her with longing. Emily laughed looking at Leah. "I guess she thinks of me as the source of food."

Leah laughed softly, "Which is pretty much what everyone thinks of you as." It was the first exchange in a long, long time between the two young women that held any sense of their old camaraderie. "Don't wake my mom up, she was pretty upset yesterday and she needs to rest. We should probably get some food in Hannie soon. Dr. Cullen said her arm was healing very well and her fever was down. He also gave her a ton of antibiotics which he said were working quickly with her body. He didn't say anything about what time he was coming today though."

"He told Jake that he thought she was well enough that we could just call him if she needed him otherwise he would come later today sometime." Leah nodded and looked down at her small cousin again. Even after staring at her face for twenty hours she could hardly believe that they had her back alive. Fatigue was starting to press in around her and she felt almost nauseous from the intense exhaustion. She had done patrol the night before so it had been almost forty-eight hours since she had slept at all.

"I'll get her some breakfast now before everyone descends upon the house. What would you like?" Leah's stomach growled at the mere thought of food and she shrugged. "I don't care, anything is fine." Emily nodded before slipping out the door. Leah heard her go outside and then a few minutes later she reentered the house and there were sounds coming from the kitchen as she began to cook. With in minutes amazing smells started wafting from the kitchen as she worked her magic. In spite of Leah's feelings about Emily, there wasn't any doubt in her mind that Emily was one of the best cooks in the world. Johannah inhaled and a sound almost like a purr came from her as she smelled the food. She glanced shyly at Leah and there was the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

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><p>Hannie couldn't believe how things had changed for her in so short a time. She had looked for <em>her<em> for so long, but the more she searched the more confused she felt about where she should look. She had started to think in her half-starved state of being that she had been remembering things that were just a fantasy; that in the misery of her lonely desolate life, she was trying to make a dream world to help her psyche remain sane. There was no way there was someone named Leah who was beautiful and kind, fun and mischievous who loved her like she was a big sister, right?

But here she was! By a twist of fate, or was it a miracle, she had found her Leah. Despite the pain that lingered and throbbed in her arm, she was grateful she had been injured. If she hadn't she would have continued east looking for her family. Instead she had become too weak and hungry to continue and she could hardly walk from the agony of her wound. She had come back to the nice woman who had fed her before, hoping that she would be kind just one more time. Now, she sat with her Leah hugging her and there was the most enticing smells coming from the kitchen. For the first time in so long, Johannah felt a curl of happiness start to unfold in her chest.

She looked up at Leah one more time just to make sure she was real. The face she had begun to think was a fantasy looked back at her with gentle eyes. Hannie smiled tentatively. If this was a dream she really, really hoped that she never woke up.


	9. Chapter 9

Breakfast had been finished for a little while and Leah was so far beyond tired she could barely see straight. She had eaten with Johannah in the laundry room/makeshift bedroom because she thought it might be too overwhelming for Hannie to be in the kitchen with both packs present. Her heart ached when she thought of how Johannah had reacted to being given a plate of breakfast. She had snatched it out of Emily's hands with her good arm and set it on the bed between her knees. She hunched over it and her eyes darted to and fro looking for a threat as she shoved the food in her mouth at an alarming rate. She had obviously been in way too many situations where her food had been stolen from her. When she was done, she looked at Leah's food with a glassy eyed longing and Leah had handed over her plate. It too was gone before Emily came back to check on them. Her shrewd gaze caught on immediately and she had wordlessly replaced Leah's breakfast and brought a plate with two hot muffins which Johannah ate right away.

When she was finished she bent over at the waist, making little noises of discomfort and Leah had thought for a minute that she was going to be sick. She had eaten as much as Jake or Seth did in one sitting. After a few more minutes she fell silent and still and stared into space with a peculiar look. Leah didn't want to crowd her, so she just let her be as she finished her breakfast. All of the sudden, Johannah began twitching her bandaged arm, twisting it back and forth. She scowled fiercely at it and started tearing at the medical tape and gauze. Leah laid a firm hand over her restless fingers.

"You need to leave your arm bandaged. You were hurt very badly and it needs to heal without getting dirty." Hannie shook her head in agitation. She shook Leah's hand off and finished ripping the tape off the outside and then unwound the strips of gauze. When she got down to the medicine coated four by fours, she gingerly peeled them back. When Dr. Cullen performed the exact same procedure just ten hours previous, the wound had been a festering strip of red flesh held together by twenty or more black stitches. It had been nowhere near knitted back together and Leah had surmised it would take a while for it to heal. But as she looked at it now, she was surprised to see that the wound had fused together and was a healthy pink with the black stitches making a sort of ladder up her arm.

Johannah started scratching it around the edges and Leah was worried it would open back up. Before she could stop her, Emily walked in the room.

"Your mom just woke up and is taking a shower but I thought I could stay with her if you want to go sleep now." Her cousin was quiet and gentle and for the first time Leah wished that things between them were the same as they used to be.

"I guess so, I'm about to pass out." She looked down at Johannah. "Hannie, Emily's going to stay with you while I sleep for a little bit. Is that okay?" Green eyes the size of saucers considered her and then Emily. The young girl had a worried look and Leah felt like she could cry. Fatigue was crushing her and she knew it was only a few minutes until she flipped out. Right when she would have said never-mind, there was an infinitesimal nod from Johannah. Emily smiled. "Leah will come back soon."

As Leah left the laundry room, she saw Carlisle being welcomed in the front door and her mom came down the stairs, her hair wet from the shower. She paused long enough to tell Jake she was headed out to sleep and then went out the back door. She was going to go home, strip down and just crash until someone woke her up. As she crossed the grass she heard a shriek and then a loud crash. She turned back towards the house in time to see a small, pure white wolf in mid-air. Leah was so tired that she didn't have rational thought and phased out of instinct.

The little white wolf was snarling and headed right towards her. Leah growled in warning, thinking – _what the hell?_ As the unfamiliar wolf charged her she leaped forward to attack only to be brought to a shocked halt when the little one suddenly whined and pressed its face into her neck.

_It's one of them! Help me Leah! It's one of them! _The terrified hysteria in the plea chilled her entire being. Completely stunned to hear an unfamiliar voice in her head, Leah huffed out a bark and tried to step back. The small white wolf stepped with her, crying in a consistent whine as it shook. _It's going to kill me too! Help me Leah!_

There was suddenly a series of grisly images being fed to her. She saw her Aunt Kaiya staring at a man who Leah vaguely recognized. Suddenly he lunged at Kaiya who screamed, _'run'_, before her voice was cut of by the man's jaws around her neck. The small canine body pressed up against Leah shuddered violently as the images were stopped.

_Holy hell!_ _Kaiya was killed by a vampire!_

She pulled back and looked closely at the little wolf. Big sad green eyes stared back at her and Leah felt her mind go numb. _Hannie really was a wolf!_ Leah looked over to the porch where everyone was standing and saw Dr. Cullen standing at the back of the crowd. She had never considered that Hannie would be afraid of Carlisle. It had become an almost normal thing to live in harmony with their mortal enemy and sometimes it slipped her mind what regular vampires did.

Yeah, their stench never let up, but she saw that the Cullen's were an inherently good family; well she did suspect that Jasper slipped up every now and then, but still. The thought of Carlisle hurting someone was ridiculous even in her mind but she supposed to Johannah he was just a vampire.

She remembered the picture of Kaiya in the grasp of the weirdly familiar vampire and cringed. Hannie had moved to her side, trying to hide from the vampire on the porch. She whimpered and when Leah looked down at her, she saw that the injury on the front leg had busted back open and was now bleeding copiously.

_Hannie can you hear me?_ There was a terrified whine and she pressed even tighter to Leah. _I need you to relax and change back to normal okay? Your arm is bleeding again and we need to stop it. Can you do that? _

There was a shrug of skinny wolf shoulders and another whine. _It's going to hurt me_. Leah could almost taste the fear gripping Hannie's mind. She leaned down and rubbed her chin over Johannah's head. _He won't hurt you Hannie. I promise. I know what he is but I promise he will not hurt you. I'll protect you, but you need to phase back, okay?_

_I don't know how,_ a small voice spoke back to her. Leah looked at her oddly. _You don't know how?_ There was a definitive shake of her white head and Leah was perplexed. _How did she not know how? _

_I don't switch back and forth. I don't know how to make myself go back._

Leah looked incredulously at her and then over at Jake. _Someone really needed to phase, like right now!_ She didn't know how to deal with this, how to tell the little girl what to do to phase back into a human body. She was so tired she wished she could just lay down right there. She tried to convey to Jacob through her eyes that she needed some help, but the dunderhead was too thick to get it.

_What do you mean you don't switch back and forth? How many times have you phased into a wolf?_

There was confusion in the frightened green eyes that looked back at her.

_I don't know. When mommy died I was so scared and I was shaking and I felt hot and weird; then all of the sudden my arms were furry. Mommy screamed at me to run and I didn't want to but I did so I wouldn't be killed too. I just stayed furry when I tried to find you. I just wanted you and Uncle Harry and Aunty Sue and Seth. I looked for a long, long time. _

_I was on a wharf one time, I think in San Francisco, and a man hit me on the head with a board. When I ran away and hid my head hurt so badly and all the sudden_ _my body turned back into a person. I didn't have any clothes and I didn't know what to do. I was hiding behind a pile of boxes and this gross man saw me and smiled really scary and said "hey little sweet thing." I tried to run away but he grabbed my arm and I was so scared I was shaking and I got all hot again. All of the sudden my arm just exploded and I was furry again. He screamed and fell down and then ran away. _

_I didn't want anyone to hurt me when I was looking for you, so I tried to stay away from people, especially ones who would hurt me. Since that man tried to do something bad to me, I'm always a dog._

_Wolf,_ Leah corrected automatically, but she felt her cousin's pain in their shared minds. _Okay, this wasn't going to work._ Hannie's leg was coated in the free flowing blood from her wound. She needed to transform back into a human, and she needed to do it now.

_Follow me Hannie_, Leah instructed as she went just inside the tree line where a dozen pairs of eyes couldn't see her. She stood behind a particularly large tree and phased back into human form. _See, just relax your body and let yourself go back into your human shape. _

Uncertain emerald eyes looked at her before blinking rapidly. The white wolf body suddenly trembled and morphed back into the skinny body that it had been before.

Leah stared. _Holy shit! _

Though the arm wound had opened back up and was bleeding, it didn't have the same festering, infected look as before. But it wasn't the serious wound that had Leah staring once again in shock. When Johannah phased back into her human body, she looked like she had aged more than a year in the past ten minutes. Leah didn't have anything to say as she just stood there, mouth open.


	10. Chapter 10

**So very, very sorry for the loooong wait between chapters. I had the flu so bad I thought I was dying. Plus there isn't internet where I'm staying so that complicates my update timeline. Hope you enjoy and I have the next chapter done... Just proof reading before I post! :)**

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><p>Leah was jolted into action when the girl standing naked before her hugged herself with a pained, confused look; smearing blood on her torso in the process. Leah sighed; <em>she so wasn't getting any sleep now.<em>

Peeking out from behind the tree, she saw Emily walking her way with clothes in hand. Leah accepted them wordlessly and dressed in a flash. There was a small cotton blanket to wrap around Hannie and she did so before escorting her, forcefully, back into the clearing. Johannah leaned back with a whimper, trying to move back into the forest when she saw Dr. Cullen. When Leah pressed onwards, basically carrying her at this point, she let out a terrified wail.

"Hannie, I promise, Carlisle is not going to hurt you. He is a doctor and he is going to help get you better. He fixed your arm and gave you medicine to get better. That's why you are awake and aren't so sick, because he helped you." Leah spoke firmly and the girl stood panting, her eyes huge in her thin face.

Leah smiled gently at her. "I know you are scared of him and that he makes you feel really wrong, but he's not one of the bad guys. He's one of the only one of them who is good." She spoke in a soft tone making her voice unthreatening and persuasive.

Johannah looked over at him and shuddered before looking back to Leah.

"Can you trust me? You can sit in my lap while he fixes your arm again okay?"

Clearly fighting an internal battle, Johannah's face changed rapidly as emotions chased each other across her face. She looked like she was about to cry, but she bravely stepped one shaking foot towards the house. Leah was so proud of her courage. In spite of everything she had endured because of a vampire, she was willing to put her trust in Leah and allow one of them to touch her. Leah felt the responsibility of that trust and she felt amazingly good to know that she somehow was the one that her cousin trusted.

As they entered the house, Carlisle smiled gently at Johannah trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. When they were seated at the table, Hannie in Leah's lap, he spoke softly to her. "I am just going to clean up your arm and stitch it back together. I will be as quick and gentle as possible."

The little half-Quileute girl squeezed her eyes shut, but stretched out her damaged arm on the table. True to his word, Carlisle had her arm repaired once again in such a quick timeframe that when he stepped back and said, "All finished," the almond shaped eyes snapped open and looked at him in surprise.

She looked down at her arm which was once again wrapped securely and then back at Dr. Cullen. "If you leave your bandages alone and remain calm and in your human form, your arm should be completely healed in a few days." She was still looking at him mutely.

He set two orange medicine bottles on the table. "She needs to take the antibiotics every eight hours until they are gone. There are also some painkillers in case she needs them." He nodded to Leah and then smiled once again at Johannah.

"It was very nice to meet you. I hope your arm mends quickly." Her whole body was frozen and stretched taut as a bowstring. She looked at him with wide green eyes and made no movement until he turned and exited the house. The moment the door closed behind him, she squeezed her eyes shut and started trembling violently. Holding the blanket around her, Leah hugged her tight trying to comfort her. Emily disappeared up the stairs and then came down again with some more temporary clothes.

Leah carried her into the laundry room again and in a minute the two older cousins had dressed the younger one. Hannie was standing motionless, allowing them to minister to her but it was like there was no one behind her blank eyes. It made Leah both sad and furious that the once vivacious child was this silent traumatized shell of her former self. Emily smiled kindly at her.

"Would you let me brush your hair?" she asked sweetly. Johannah stared at the soft bristled brush in her hand and Leah saw a spark of something in her eyes when she saw the jeweled hair clip Emily held in her other hand. Wordlessly the girl sat on a short stool and turned her back to Emily. When Emily began running the brush gently through her hair there was a small sound like a purr. Leah smiled as she watched Hannie. The girl sat with her eyes closed and as Emily brushed she visibly relaxed a little with each stroke. Leah remembered her Aunt Kaiya brushing Johannah's hair when she was little and how much Hannie had loved it. She felt a pang in her chest as she realized that this was likely the first time since her mother had died that Hannie had her hair combed.

_What was that like,_ Leah wondered, _to live as an animal for almost eight years; to be a child still and be alone, afraid with no human contact save an attack by a cruel man and attempted assault by a foul piece of shit? _

Her exhaustion had taken her past the point of tiredness and she was dizzy and nauseous. Emily set the brush down after parting Johannah's hair on the side and starting at the front, French braided the top layer of her hair around to the side. She fixed the end in place with the jeweled hair clip. When she was done, she picked up a small square mirror and handed it to Johannah. When she saw her reflection, the little girl's eyes widened and a tiny smile curled her lips as she touched her hair. Leah knew that she was way past her threshold for tiredness when she felt tears well up at that simple expression. Hannie looked up at Emily before hugging her around the waist with her good arm. Emily smiled as she hugged her back.

"Would you like something to drink now?" She asked kindly. Johannah nodded and followed as Emily left to go back to the kitchen. She grabbed Leah's hand as she passed by and pulled her along. Emily was pouring a glass of juice and Johannah reached up towards Leah's face. Leah leaned down and Hannie patted her cheek, pointed towards the door and closed her eyes with her head leaned to one side. Her pantomime was quite eloquent and Leah understood immediately that she was telling her to go sleep.

"You're telling me to go sleep?" Johannah nodded and again a tiny smile was on her lips as she looked at Emily.

"I will keep her with me and I am sure your mother will be here after the meeting." At Emily's words Leah suddenly realized that there was no one around but the three of them. She really needed sleep if she was missing the most obvious facts. She mutely nodded and walked to the front door.

"Tell Jake and Seth not to wake me up unless it's a life or death emergency."

Emily chuckled quietly. "I will and I will clarify for them what a life or death emergency constitutes."

Leah nodded her thanks and once again wished that their relationship was what it used to be. She watched for a moment as Johannah climbed onto a barstool and picked up her juice. Her legs swung as she sipped and Leah smiled. She was too tired to do more than walk slowly towards her house. Ten minutes later she reached her house. Two minutes after that she was passed out on top of her bed.

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><p>Johannah sat on a wooden stool with the glass of juice in front of her. It was dark red but around the ice cubes it was a lighter pink. She thought it was so pretty. Emily was doing little things around the kitchen but Johannah saw that she was watching her. Hannie didn't mind; it actually made her feel happy inside that she was with someone who took care of her and made her feel safe. She remembered Emily a little bit from when she was younger. She had been Leah's best friend and it puzzled her why Leah didn't like her anymore. No one had said anything, but she could sense the uncomfortable air between them and how being around Emily made Leah tense.<p>

She touched the braid in her hair again and smiled a little bit. She liked to feel the texture of the intricate twist; it made her remember how her mother used to fix her hair. Thinking of her mother wasn't difficult for her anymore. When she had first died and Hannie had turned into a dog, she was so scared and confused that she hadn't been able to process grief. After the first few days of bewilderment and fear she realized that her mother was really gone and it felt as if she would die from the pain inside. She hid in the forest screaming and howling incessantly until her throat hurt and she was too tired to do anything but sleep under the trees.

But the years of searching for Leah and the rest of her family had dulled the agony of losing her mother. Remembering the good things about her mother was the only thing that gave her comfort during her lonely wanderings. Living as an animal had become something she was used to but it never felt right. She had faced starvation continuously, mostly because foraging for leftover human food was difficult in wolf form and she didn't hunt animals for food. She was human in her mind and a girl to top it off.

She had once, out of desperation, caught a rabbit. When she tore into it, utter revulsion turned her stomach and she had retched dryly, giving up the thought of eating the raw creature with intestines spilling out onto the forest floor. She had covered the body with leaves and foliage and rinsed her mouth in the stream before heading onwards.

Now, as she sat in Emily's kitchen, which smelled better than any place she had been in years, she thought of how she would never have to live in such a way again. She knew that Emily and Leah would make sure she was taken care of. And she knew that even if they weren't here, there was one person who could take care of her as well as her own mother had; her Aunt Sue.

She had seen her earlier as the Cold Doctor had fixed her arm, but terror of what the Evil Man could do had locked her in place and she could do nothing to speak or even make eye contact with her aunt. When Emily and Leah had finished dressing her, there had been no one in the house anymore and she wondered when Aunty Sue would come back. _And where was Uncle Harry?_ Emily had spoken to Leah about her mother but nothing had been said about Harry.

Emily started piling items from the fridge onto the counter and Johannah watched with fascinated eyes as her hands began assembling food with lightning precision. She chopped and measured, poured and stirred. In less than ten minutes, she was greasing glass baking dishes and filling them with a pale mixture before sliding them deftly into the oven. Hannie was enthralled. Emily cooked like a professional chef and she thought of possibilities in the future. She had always loved to cook with her mother and she wondered now if Emily would let her help in the kitchen.

As if sensing she was being thought of, Emily smiled at her. "Everyone will be back shortly and the boys will be hungry of course. Would you like something to eat before the hoards descend?" Johannah looked at her and thought about the odd statement.

_The hoards?_ _Was she talking about the humongous boys Hannie had seen through the window the night of the storm?_

_And food; did she want food?_ Now that she thought about it she wouldn't mind eating something again. The mere fact of never having to feel hunger pangs sent her head swimming and she smiled timidly at Emily.

"I'll take that as a yes," her cousin by proxy said. "What would you like?" Hannie thought about it and realized she didn't know. She really hadn't had a choice in her selection of food for so many years. She shrugged her shoulders and Emily nodded, seeming to realize that not only was it too much for the younger girl to choose, but also, there was a slim to none chance of getting a verbal response.

Turning back to the fridge, she hummed absently as she pulled out more items. A few minutes later she had arranged neatly cut triangles of a sandwich on a plate with some grapes and strawberries. When she set it in front of Johannah she couldn't help but feel pleased at the way the girl's eyes widened and the tiny smile that formed on her lips.

Hannie looked at Emily from the plate of beautiful food and nodded, blinking her eyes a few times. She wanted to tell her thank you but she couldn't speak. She hadn't spoken since the day her mother had died and part of her was afraid she didn't know how anymore. But Emily seemed to understand what she was feeling and merely smiled before turning around to work at the counter.

Hannie looked at her food a few moments longer before beginning to eat. She was starting to realize that there was no threat to her here; that no one was going to take her food away from her. When she had eaten breakfast with Leah, the deep rooted fear that there was a predator just waiting to snatch what was hers away, had her hunching over her food as she wolfed it down. But Leah had done nothing to take away from her and had in fact, given her own food to Hannie when she had stared longingly at it.

Now as she sat eating at the kitchen island, with Emily humming as she worked, she felt relaxed. She ate slowly as there were no tearing hunger pains in her stomach, and relished the flavors of the simple foods she had missed so much.

At the counter where she worked, Emily could see Johannah's reflection in the shiny toaster and she smiled as she realized that the little girl was relaxed as she ate. There was no defensive posturing and Emily could tell she was enjoying her food. She realized that had she ignored the pathetic stray a few weeks ago, this innocent child would most likely be dead and it made her feel really good that she had inadvertently saved her life.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so now I'm really insecure, because I've posted three chapters on my two stories and no reviews! Is my writing sucking that bad these days? I'm thinking I must suck at the summaries, because I've read some truly painful stories that have hundreds of reviews. So if someone has a better summary for this story, send it in. I revised it tonight but still not a 100% satisfied. **

**Also, I posted some pictures to my new Twitter account. They'll be labelled so you'll know which story and chapter they relate to. Please see me over there! :) And thank you to all of you who read, even if you don't review. I appreciate your valuable time being spent reading the product of my imagination!**

**Twitter name is** www-twitter-com**/Sari_Damien  
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><p>Johannah had finished her food when she heard approaching footsteps. She slid off the barstool and crept around the island to press herself against Emily. She didn't know who was coming, but it made her nervous. <em>What if it was the Cold Doctor?<em> Leah said he was good and he _had_ fixed her arm, but it did not eradicate the bone-deep terror she felt when he was near. She had seen what his kind could do; saw how easily it had ripped her mother's throat almost in two.

Emily rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's probably the boys and Sam coming back for lunch." Johannah moved behind her when the footsteps reached the porch and tapped up the stairs. It sounded like one person and their steps were not heavy like a young man's. The screen door creaked slightly as it was opened and the suspense had Hannie's whole body tingling as heat shot up her spine. Fear threatened to choke her and just when she thought she would turn into a dog, she saw who the steps belonged to.

She launched herself from behind Emily and flew across the room. For the first time in over five years, human sound emerged from her and she burst into tears as she was enfolded in the arms of her Aunt Sue. She had longed for Leah, because Leah had always been her favorite cousin, her big sister since she had never had one for herself. But she _needed_ her Aunt Sue like a mother. She didn't see the tears in her Aunt's eyes as the Quileute elder struggled to maintain her composure.

Sue gathered the skinny form of her niece into her arms and held her as the little girl wept. Her slight frame shook with the wracking sobs and Sue felt tears slip unheeded down her cheeks as she absorbed the devastation in Johannah's cries. Emily brought a chair to where Sue was and she sat gratefully, lifting Hannie into her lap. She couldn't think of anything to say to make Johannah's pain go away, so she merely sat hugging her and occasionally ran a hand over her dark hair. After what seemed to be an eternity but was probably only ten minutes, Johannah's sobs quieted and she leaned against Sue. She was relaxed, almost melted in her posture and Sue wondered absently if she would fall asleep. Before she could give it another thought, Hannie jerked upright, her thin body stretched taut as a piano wire as she stared toward the front of the house with anxious eyes.

"The boys are coming," Emily said and Sue nodded.

"Yes, I told them to wait and give me fifteen minutes." At Sue's response to Emily, Johannah looked at her with a worried expression. She looked to the front door and then back to Sue, her breath increasing rapidly. Realizing that the girl was quickly approaching full-fledged panic Sue stood, setting her on her feet. The moment they touched the boards she started backing down the small hallway towards the laundry room. When neither of the women moved to stop her, she darted into the little room and shut the door carefully.

"Should I go and sit with her?" Sue asked Emily. The younger woman shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess we could give her a few minutes and then check to see if she's alright." Before anything more could be said, the door opened to let the pack in. Emily noticed that Jake wasn't there and also Jared and Brady were absent. She figured that they were probably on patrol and Jake was most likely at the Cullen's. She worked quickly, setting out baskets full of hot crescent rolls and sliding pans of cheesy rice & beef casserole out of the oven. As quickly as she provided it, the boys devoured and she hardly noticed their banter as they ate.

"Where's the girl?" She looked up startled at the question coming from Paul. She had been lost in thought and automatically looked towards the laundry room. Sue was closing the door gently before making her way back to the kitchen. She smiled at Seth when he greeted her.

"She's resting," Sue said in answer even though the question had not been originally directed at her. Paul nodded and went back to shoving his face full of food. Seth looked down the hall with a crease of concern between his brows. Emily knew his soft heart had to be hurting for his cousin, imagining all of the things she had suffered. Realizing the food was almost gone she offered some to Sue who declined in favor of coffee. After setting a new pot to brew, she made herself a small portion and sat down with Sam to eat.

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><p>Johannah heard them talking in the main area of the house; in Emily's kitchen. She felt anxious. <em>What if they didn't like her like Leah, Emily and Aunt Sue did? <em>But they were laughing and talking between the scrapes and clinks of silverware on plates. Aunty Sue had come to see if she was alright and she had nodded an affirmative to her question. Now curiosity was beginning to burn in her mind and she tiptoed from the squishy soft bed to the door. She twisted the knob a fraction at a time, making sure it made no noise as she did so. When she heard the catch release, she carefully pulled the door open and peeked out towards the kitchen. No one was paying attention to her and she took a moment to see what was going on.

She counted the people carefully and studied their faces trying to remember if she had seen any of them earlier. She truthfully couldn't remember many clear details because her mind had been in full-out panic from the Cold Doctor's presence. She recognized the man sitting with Emily. She had seen him several times in the past few weeks and she thought that they were together. _Married?_ She didn't see wedding rings on their fingers, but then again what did she know?

There were ten people eating Emily's food. Besides Aunt Sue and Emily there were two other dark haired girls and Hannie thought one of them was kind of familiar; like maybe she knew her once upon a time. Before she could study them more, she saw a head turn and she pulled herself back behind the safety of the doorjamb. After a few heart pounding moments she didn't hear anyone making their way towards her so she risked a glance out.

Everyone was still consumed with their lunch and she studied the males in the room this time. There was the one with Emily and then another who looked as old him. The girl who looked kind of familiar to her was sitting next to him and every time he looked at her, he would smile a little bit. The rest of the boys looked considerably younger and there were two kids that looked really young. Their bodies were big, but somehow Hannie knew they weren't as old as their physical appearance. And then there was the one sitting at the table with a perpetual happy look on his face. Even when he frowned there was still something about him that made her think he was a happy person. She recognized his face even though he was five times bigger than the last time she had seen him. She _knew_ it was her cousin Seth. Seeing him and seeing that he was the same after all this time made her feel really good inside. She was feeling better and better about having a family again. _But where was Uncle Harry?_

The only face she couldn't see was the boy/man sitting at the table with his back to her. She didn't recognize his form from any of her hazy images of the past few days but she found she was very curious. However much she stared at the back of his head, he would not turn so she could get a look at his face. Finally she decided that it was time to retreat to the safety of her temporary room and she closed the door quietly after her.

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><p>"The kid was staring holes in the back of your head," Paul mentioned conversationally as they all finished up the lunch Emily had provided. His pack brother jerked his gaze from his plate up to Paul's grinning face with a stumped look. "Huh?"<p>

Paul laughed and shook his head. "Wolf senses and he doesn't even know when he's being blatantly watched."

Sue shook her head at the boys. "She is curious of who you all are but also very nervous of strangers, especially ones who are stronger than her. From her point of view he was the only face she could not see." Her logic was irrefutable, but it didn't stop the unease the pack member felt when Paul first ribbed him. But he shrugged off the weird feeling as unnecessary, seeing as the kid was maybe sixty pounds soaking wet.

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><p><strong>So... anyone have a guess who the <em>'pack brother'<em> being stared at is? :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, I'm not going to beg for reviews, even though my feelings are totally hurt by being abandoned by my readers. (Theatrical sigh). **

**I'm having a butt-hard time getting my photo page to cooperate but I have been putting picture to correlate with the story on my twitter page! **

**Look at them there if you're interested... www`twitter`com/Sari_Damien**

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><p>Her arm was itching like crazy and Hannie wanted nothing more than to rip the bandage from it again and scratch until it was relieved. The only thing keeping her from doing it was the terrifying thought that another reopened wound would bring back the Cold Doctor.<p>

Emily had folded up the bedding and washed the sheets from her temporary bed in the laundry room after lunch and Johannah had begun to fear where she was going to sleep. Everyone but Emily and Aunt Sue had left to do whatever it was they did, so Hannie had followed her out of the laundry room. She didn't say anything but smiled a little when she saw Aunt Sue sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. It felt so weird to be happy inside; to look at someone she had needed and missed so much and know that she wouldn't have to live without them anymore.

"Do you want something to eat?" Emily asked her. Johannah looked at her dumbfounded. _She was offering her food again?_ She had eaten two sandwiches and a small pile of fruit not even two hours ago! But she _was_ kind of hungry. Or maybe it was just that she wanted food since it was available. Whichever, she wasn't going to refuse the offer because she had learned you could go a long time between finding anything edible.

With a tiny smile she nodded. Aunt Sue looked at her with a smile crinkling her eyes. "So you have an appétit like the rest of them," she said and Hannie looked at her with a tiny frown not sure what she meant.

"Like the rest of the wolves," Aunt Sue clarified and Johannah bit her lip. She had seen Leah turn into a wolf when she had run out of the house away from the Cold Doctor, but as she stared at Aunty Sue she realized that Leah wasn't the only one like her. She looked to Emily and then back to Sue and the looks on their faces confirmed her suspicion. _**All**__ of the humongous boys that were here earlier were dogs like her!_

"_Wolves,"_ her mind corrected her and it made her think of Leah.

She sat down quietly on the chair next to Sue and thought. When the Cold Doctor had come there was so much terror and desperation to get away from him clouding her mind that she hadn't really processed what else had happened. Now there was no distraction and she went back over the sequence of events.

When Leah had left her room (the laundry room), Emily had smiled at her again. "Dr. Cullen is going to look at your arm and make sure it's healing correctly, okay?" Johannah hadn't said anything but she felt a whisper of cold dread skitter down her spine. There was something bad nearby, her senses told her and it made her want to run and hide. She tried to relax, telling herself that she was safe here with the only family she had on earth, but there was still something that was making her feel hot and tingly all of the sudden.

There were footsteps from the front of the house and as she heard Leah say something to someone she could not see, there was a smell so revolting and terrifying that Johannah gasped. She felt her mind freeze in fear as she began to shake. Like she was in a bad dream where she couldn't force her body to move, she stood rooted to the spot as the door to the laundry room was pushed open.

One of the huge men she had seen through the window when she was a dog was in the doorway, but she didn't see who it was. Her eyes were riveted to the being that stood with him. She felt her heart pound as pain and heat shot up her spine. When the terrible being that stood there smiled and stepped towards her, she shrieked in horror and instinct had her throwing herself through the window on her left. The glass shattered as she plunged through it and she saw her outstretched arms explode into furry limbs.

Leah, who had been walking across the grassy stretch of land, turned and as she saw Johannah, she too exploded into a dog. Except she wasn't a small dog like Johannah and as Hannie saw her large gray form she didn't have time to be afraid or confused. Only one thing drove her now was the intense need to get away from him! He was sure death to her and she didn't know how the others didn't know this!

_She needed to get to Leah, Leah would keep her safe._ But as she tore across the ground to get to her a loud snarl came from Leah who plunged towards her. Hannie knew there was no way for her to tell Leah the danger that was present so she dove and pressed herself into Leah's side. She howled and whined trying to warn Leah while her mind screamed in terror and plea.

_It's one of them! Help me Leah! It's one of them! _Leah had let out a small huffing noise and stepped away from her but Hannie couldn't let her only safety go.

_It's going to kill me too!_ _Help me Leah! _Johannah tried to stop the memories but they flooded into her mind, reinforcing her fear. She saw the horrible man, not a man, an evil being, as he smiled at her mother. She felt the tingling and heat and the searing pain as her body had turned in protection. And she saw with devastating clarity the image of the evil, evil being as it lunged towards her mother. Her mother's scream to 'run' was cut off by a horrible choking, gurgling noise as he ripped her throat with his teeth.

She forced her mind to block the images and stood there shaking as she waited for the one on the porch to come after her. He was just like her mother's killer and she didn't understand why he had not already killed them all.

_Holy hell! Kaiya was killed by a vampire!_ She whined at the voice in her mind and was confused because it sounded like Leah. When Leah's dog form pulled back and looked at her she heard it again. _Hannie really is a wolf!_

Her confusion over hearing Leah's person voice in her head was far outweighed by the pressing need to get away from him, but she did nothing but press closer against Leah.

When Leah started talking to her inside her mind, she had felt authority radiating from her older cousin and she didn't understand the need she felt to obey her. But knowing that Leah was her only hope of safety had her following her obediently. After doing as Leah instructed and letting her body transform back into a person, she had been wrapped in a soft blanket and herded back into the yard.

Even with Leah's reassurances and forceful movement, she had still tried to make a break back to the safety of the trees but Leah was too strong and had forced her to the house. She hadn't been able to restrain the howl of fear that had emitted from her throat and hearing the animalistic sound from her human body had done something to make her feel sad for some reason.

She had finally decided to trust Leah, because she knew her cousin would never lie to her and give her over to be killed. And it seemed like she knew what the evil being was. _How did she know and not be afraid?_

Johannah had sat on Leah's lap with her eyes squeezed shut as the cold, hard hands worked in scary-fast movements to repair her arm. When he said, "all finished" in his smooth, hypnotizing voice, she had looked at him with surprise and then at her arm. It was wrapped all perfectly again but she couldn't think of a word to say and merely sat in tense silence until he left.

The instant the door closed behind him she had freaked out completely. She didn't make a noise but inside her head she was screaming bloody murder. She couldn't do anything but sit shaking in Leah's lap as she tried to keep from turning into a dog. She thought she was going to throw up.

_She __**let**__ one of them touch her! Eww, eww, eww!_

She didn't do anything when Leah carried her back into the laundry room and dressed her with Emily. She couldn't think of anything but the Cold Doctor. He knew where she was. He could come at any time and kill her! But Leah was here, and Leah had said she wouldn't let anything happen to her. She could trust Leah; _right?_

She had almost melted off the short stool when Emily had brushed her hair. It felt so freaking' good! Her mother used to brush her hair every night for ten minutes. She loved the feel of having her hair brushed and played with. It gave her immense pleasure when she saw and felt the braid Emily had fixed in her hair.

When Leah left it made her feel anxious that she wasn't right with her, but she was pretty confident that she could trust Emily. After all, Emily was the one who had fed her and brought her in from the cold. She wasn't going to dwell on the fact that it might have been Emily who called the Cold Doctor to come fix her arm. But Hannie had felt it was the right thing to do, to tell Leah she would be fine here and Leah had looked so relieved when Hannie had motioned for her to go sleep.

Emily was easy to be with as she didn't crowd her or jabber too much and Hannie thought she would really like being around Emily more often. When she had heard the footsteps approaching, she had instinctively fled to Emily's side as she waited on pins and needles to see who was coming in the house. When she had seen her Aunt Sue come through the door, every emotion that she had forcibly ignored for the past eight years overwhelmed her. Before she was even in her Aunt's arms, she was sobbing. Aunty Sue had held her until she had calmed down, and Johannah knew that she was finally home safe.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Emily setting a dish in front of her. She looked at the contents of the bowl and then to Emily and back again. _Really; this is what Emily was giving her to eat in the middle of the day?_ She smiled hugely as she picked up the spoon. At the first taste she sighed in pleasure.

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><p>Sue watched as her niece dug into the heaping bowl Emily sat in front of her. Her eyes had widened when she first looked at it and then she had smiled, really smiled, before picking up her spoon. She would have never thought that a simple ice cream sundae could bring so much joy, but as she watched the small girl devour it, she realized just how much Johannah had been deprived the last eight years. Of her family, of love, of being human; but somehow, knowing she had been consistently deprived of basic nutrition made Sue's heart squeeze in her chest. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair that this had happened to such a sweet little girl and she vowed as she watched the bowl be scraped clean that she was going to do everything in her power to take care of Hannie.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all! Hope you're liking the story this far. Next chapter starts progressing through the story a little faster; just laying the ground work here. I have about 28 chapters roughly written, so it's looking to be kind of lengthy. Please review if you have a second. It really helps me not be depressed. :) Thank you for reading, I appreciate your time spent... Sari**

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><p>"Hannie, could you measure out two cups of milk and pour it in slowly while I mix?" Emily had her hands in a large bowl with a mixture that looked like damp sand. Johannah silently did as she had been asked, enjoying helping Emily cook. She had been here for four days now, well four days as a person.<p>

That first evening she had once again retreated to the laundry room when the boys came in to eat dinner. She had paced the floor anxiously wondering as it became dark where she would sleep. When the door opened, she froze. _Please don't be the Cold Doctor please don't be the Cold Doctor. _ She didn't smell the gagging, sweet odor so she turned carefully. It was her cousin Seth who stood with a plate in his hand and a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey, Hannie," his greeting was cheerful in a much deeper tone than the last time she had heard him speak. "Mom said you already ate but I thought I could sit with you so you won't be alone." She didn't answer verbally but she nodded and smiled a tiny bit. He pulled a large white Igloo cooler from underneath the counter and used it as a bench. It was quite long and he patted the empty space beside him.

Johannah considered it for a moment before moving timidly to sit beside him. He grinned at her before shoving a massive forkful of food in his mouth. When he had chewed and swallowed, he looked at her again.

"So, how do you like being a wolf?" She stared at him with her mouth hanging open. Was he being serious or was he joking? _How did she like being a wolf?_ All she associated with it was hunger and being lonely, but mostly being starved. _Did Seth and the other ones like being wolves?_ She couldn't fathom getting enjoyment from it. As far as she was concerned, she never wanted to be in dog form again. _Wolf_ her mind corrected and some how it sounded like Leah's voice in her head.

She shrugged with an uncertain look on her face. He chuckled and took another bite of food. Once again he spoke after he had swallowed. "Strong, silent type; I like it. Girls can talk way too much." She gave him an insulted look. _Girls_ she thought derisively. _Was he actually serious?_ As if he could hear her thoughts, he looked at her directly.

"I'm kidding, Hannie. Don't worry about being quiet, I know you can talk. It's probably weird to be human again, so take your time. Leah said you never phased in the last five years." She chewed on her lip and nodded. He chewed another bite at the same time.

"Personally, I can't imagine not phasing back for so long. I mean I like running and everything, but I definitely like being human too. What did you eat?" Her desolate memories must have shown on her face and he gave her a perceptive and worried glance.

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring up bad memories." She shook her head and gave him a half smile. She shrugged and he smiled at her again. "You're a tough cookie Hannie. When you're ready to talk, I'm all ears." She ducked her head and tucked her hair behind her ears. She was curious of what her voice would sound like now, but she was more nervous that she wouldn't remember how to speak. She knew that was ridiculous, but it was still a real fear for her.

He finished his mountain of food and looked at his plate and then the door which was open about two inches. "Um, I'm just going to get some more food." He looked almost embarrassed and she couldn't hold in the giggle that bubbled up her throat. The quiet, high sound that came out surprised her. Reflexively she covered her mouth with her hand and looked at him with wide eyes. He smiled and winked at her and she smiled back.

He darted out the door and returned less than a minute later with another heaping plate. _Wow he ate a lot of food!_ He kept up a running dialog while he ate, telling her about school and his friends, cliff diving and how good Emily was at cooking. He named a long list of his favorite foods, and Hannie thought as he talked that she was going to get along really good with Seth. He was just as preoccupied with food as she was.

It turned out that she needn't have worried where she would stay. As night fell and the humongous boys all left, Leah had come back. "Hey baby," she said and hugged Hannie. Johannah felt relieved and secure to have Leah back and she had given her a little smile. Aunt Sue and Seth were still there along with Emily and the massive man that Hannie thought was her husband or whatever.

After a little bit, Sue had smiled at her. "We're going home now," she said softly. Hannie didn't know what she meant by that and she had simply stared with wide eyes.

"You're coming with us," Leah said quickly and Hannie had sighed quietly. It wasn't that she didn't like Emily, but she felt better that she would be with Leah and Sue. She glanced over at Emily who just smiled and nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said in her gentle voice. Johannah nodded quickly before slipping her hand into Leah's. She trusted her word, but she didn't want them to leave without her. Seth left the house first and Hannie went along when Leah followed him out the door. They led her to a car and she looked at it with something akin to trepidation. She hadn't been in a vehicle in years and she wasn't sure if she wanted to get into it. She stood chewing on her lip and Leah sighed.

"It's not going to bite you Hannie. It's just a car." Johannah flashed a glance her way before looking back to the small SUV. Seth hopped into the back seat and looked at her expectantly.

"Come on, you can sit with me. Our house is only a couple of minutes away." She stepped towards him hesitantly and his smile encouraged her onwards. Before she could climb into the vehicle, Leah lifted her up and deposited her on the seat beside Seth. The ride home was taken at a slow pace and Hannie had relaxed fractionally by the time they had reached the Clearwater's house. When the familiar house came into view Hannie had put a hand to the window as she stared at the small home with wonder and reverence in her eyes. It was the place she had dreamed of all these years; the place she had searched for with dogged perseverance.

"We're here," Seth announced unnecessarily and she had nodded with a euphoric smile on her face. _She was home; she was with her family._ She was certain that Uncle Harry was inside and almost expected him to meet them at the door. When the forest green door remained close until Aunt Sue unlocked it, she felt confused but went inside with them.

The living room was dark and empty and there was somehow an ominous silence in the house. No one came out of any of the rooms and Johannah looked around with increasing confusion and distress. She couldn't stop the words that came out unbidden.

"Where's Uncle Harry?" Her voice was soft and scratchy almost, the years of being unused showing through. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her with various degrees of shock. No one responded and they all seemed to be frozen in place. A horrifying suspicion took root in her mind. Aunt Sue was the first to react. She crossed to Johannah and laid a hand on her cheek.

"Uncle Harry isn't… Uncle Harry died Johannah." Hannie looked at Leah and Seth and saw in their eyes that Aunt Sue was not lying. It felt like she had been punched in the chest and she felt her legs get shaky as she realized that now Mommy _and_ Uncle Harry were both dead. She loved Aunt Sue, but Uncle Harry had been her mother's brother, her last blood connection to her mom. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks as she absorbed the devastating loss.

Aunt Sue gathered her close and murmured words of comfort as Hannie cried silently. Seth looked supremely uncomfortable while Leah had a pained look in her eyes. When Johannah pulled back and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, Leah reached out a hand to her. "You can sleep with me tonight."

The next few days fell into a sort of pattern. She slept with Leah the first night, but the second day she had been gone and so she had slept with Aunt Sue. During the day she would go to Emily's house for a while and hang out in the kitchen until the boys came. Then she would either disappear into the guest room or go home with Aunt Sue. When she was alone with Emily and Aunt Sue, she was comfortable in the open area. She had started helping Emily with cooking and really liked it. Seth came by often to say hi and joke around with her. She wasn't nervous with him, but whenever one of his friends was with him she made herself scarce.

Now she was in the kitchen with Emily while Aunt Sue had gone to Forks. She had asked if Hannie wanted to go with her and received a fierce head shake in the negative. Hannie didn't want to go anywhere yet and was quite content to stay with Emily. Leah and Seth were gone with the frowny face one she heard Seth call Jake and she wondered where they had gone. Her astute senses had clued her into an almost imperceptible divide in the group of older wolves. Well, not _older_ per se, but older looking. She wondered if it was actually there or just part of her active imagination but she wasn't ready yet to start talking. When she did, she would ask Leah.

Lunch had already been eaten and cleared away and they were now making pies. There was a two gallon bucket of blackberries washed and ready for the filling and they were making the crusts. They were making five pies and that was just for one meal. Johannah didn't have anything negative to say about the huge amounts of food, she just loved the feeling of being consistently full. She actually enjoyed cooking a lot and it seemed to her that Emily like having her help. They worked well together with Emily never making her feel bad for her continued silence.

She thought a lot while she worked. She allowed herself to remember her mother's death and the events directly preceding it. She had worked valiantly for almost a decade to block out the horrifying experiences, but as she allowed her mind to rehash and go over the details she realized that there was a lot more to the story than she had first thought.

As she formed pie crust into discs with Emily, she resolved that she would try and talk to Leah next time she was with her. She felt the most comfortable with Leah and thought it would be the easiest way to start. The night before Leah had told her how Uncle Harry had died and they had cried together in Leah's bed before both had fallen asleep, emotionally exhausted.

The fact that Uncle Harry had died because of a Cold Being, made her furiously enraged. Only the fact that the one responsible had already been killed gave her a tiny measure of comfort. But her mother's killer was still out there and when she started talking, she was going to ask Leah to help her find and kill it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everybody… As I have limited internet availability, I just wanted to take a second and give a big THANK YOU to everyone who has added me as a Story or Author Favorite and Alert. I really appreciate the time you all take to read my work and knowing you have enjoyed it enough to mark it makes me really, really happy. If you have a second to review that is the best ever!**

**The next two chapters were one really long one, so I chopped it in half. I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts. Make sure to check out my other stories; COLD DUSK & VITA MIRABILIS.**

**As always, pictures associated with this story are on my twitter page.**

**www`twitter`com/Sari_Damien**

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><p>Leah hated hanging around Sam and Emily's house, but these days it wasn't really an option to avoid it. Though she had joined Jacob's pack before Renesmee had been born, the current dynamics changed things a little. After the Volturi confrontation the two packs had kind of rejoined ranks somewhat. It was ridiculous to be at odds with one another when you were working towards the same exact goal. So therefore, they were once again a unit… sort of. She, Seth and Embry were with Jacob a lot more than they were with Sam. They all took turns patrolling with Sam's crew taking care of two thirds of La Push's boundaries. They took care of the other third and some of Forks. Quil was still technically part of Jake's pack but he spent every possible moment on the reservation to be near Claire.<p>

The huge gathering of vampires before the Volturi incident had made the area around Forks & La Push a hot spot for immortal curiosity. Since the incident, they had seen almost a dozen vampires who had come to see if there really was a huge coven of peaceful vampires who lived in one place permanently and also interacted with the human population. There was also a morbid curiosity about the huge wolves that led some to venture close to the reservation in hopes of glimpsing some of them. Some had seen the wolves and escaped death by remaining on the Cullen's side of the treaty line. Others had not been so lucky and had seen the wolves just before they had been decimated by them.

When the Cullen's and the pack realized that they were going to have a problem, they had joined forces once again and agreed that if there was a red eyed vampire on the Treaty line and no Cullen around, the wolves could cross the line if they perceived there was a threat. After all, the Cullen's didn't one anyone in Forks to be dinner for a vampire any more than the wolves did. However, out of respect and due to the fact that they were well aware of the treaty boundaries, the wolves had also agreed that any vampire that had stood with the Cullen's to defend Renesmee was not to be killed.

Although Seth and Embry hung out on the reservation, Leah had avoided Sam and Emily's house like the plague, only going over when she had to. It was a rare occasion that she was there for anything more than a council meeting. There hadn't been a need for a serious wolf organization meeting since the Volturi shindig so that was a relief.

Jake had asked her to meet them over at Sam's last week so they could discuss how things were going to work out now that the Cullen's had moved back to Idaho. Idaho was their concession to Jake's need to be near Nessie. They had to move out of Forks, especially since Bella was now part of them. Everyone in Forks knew that she was married to Edward; practically half the town had been at their wedding. So it would be strange if people saw her now how she was or not at all; talk about big time exposure.

Anyway, Leah had begrudgingly showed up as asked, five minutes after the meeting was to have started. There was no one in the living room or kitchen when she walked in and she had momentarily been stumped as to where the hell they were until she saw the press of bodies in the door of the laundry room. When she had gone to look at whatever they were looking at she had almost choked on the bite of scone she had just taken.

She had known immediately that it was Hannie and her shock at seeing her long lost cousin was so complete that at first she hadn't realized that there was something wrong with her physical age. Later on, Emily had told her about first seeing her and feeding her as a dirty stray wolf/dog. She almost couldn't believe it and had instead concentrated on taking care of her. When she had seen her launching through the air in the form of a white wolf and realized that Hannie was indeed a wolf, her brain had almost short circuited.

_How had she phased at eight years old and survived?_ The legends said that one could only survive phasing after reaching puberty. They had seen how badly things had been when Brady and Collin had phased. It was awful for them and there had been a very real concern at first they it could kill them. But Hannie seemed okay. She was a little cooler than the rest of them but she healed quickly, her arm having nothing more than a puckered pink scar where the horrendous wound had been. It was fading everyday and Leah was sure it would be gone soon.

Speaking of Hannie, Leah sighed as she neared Sam & Emily's. She phased back, dressed quickly and walked out of the woods. She tried to be here before the boys at mealtimes to see Johannah. Hannie wasn't comfortable around the whole pack of them, but she was making progress in re-acclimating to human life. You had to feel for the girl; being in wolf form for eight years with only one human phase in that span of time was unimaginable.

When she opened the back door, she saw Hannie standing stock still at the counter with wide eyes. Her hand was poised over a mixing bowl holding a spatula. When she saw that it was Leah, she dropped the utensil into the bowl and rushed across to Leah. Her face lit up with a smile and Leah realized that she would suffer the insult of being in Sam & Emily's house as long as needed just to see her smile.

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><p>"Leah?" Johannah tried out the long unspoken name with hesitation. Her cousin looked at her in surprise. It was early afternoon and they were sitting in the Clearwater's living room watching TV. It had been ages since Hannie had watched TV from a couch and she found out the second day she was home with the Clearwater's that she really, really liked it.<p>

Seth had come home from wherever it was he disappeared to and flopped on the couch. He had smiled at her and asked if she wanted to watch a show with him. She had just shrugged and then nodded. He put on an animated program she had never seen before and within two minutes she was completely engrossed in it.

Sometimes in her years of solitary searching, she had watched TV through windows, just to remember what real life was like. But as she sat on the sofa with Seth watching a show called Family Guy, she realized that she really liked TV with sound. She had surprised herself and her cousin several times when something funny had her giggling softly and she had seen her Aunt Sue smiling in the doorway.

Now as she sat with Leah watching Project Runway, a new favorite show for her, she had decided to try talking.

"Yeah?" Leah answered never taking her eyes from Johannah who kept hers firmly on the screen. It was the commercial break but she couldn't look at Leah. Her voice sounded so foreign to her but she pressed on.

"How long have you been a wolf?" Leah blinked at her as if she really hadn't expected that question.

"Um, about two years," she answered. She didn't know where her little cousin was going with this line of questioning, but she was talking so that was good.

Johannah nodded. "How long has Seth been one?" Her voice was soft and hesitant, with a slight rasp to it.

"The same as me." Hannie nodded at the answer and fell silent as the show resumed. The runway show began and Hannie sighed as she looked at the pretty clothes. There was one ugly piece but most of them were so nice. She wished that she had something nice like that.

"What's wrong?" Leah asked and she shook her head.

"Nothing; they're just so nice." Leah looked at her with a little frown and then turned back to the TV show. She felt bad when she realized that Johannah probably would like new clothes. With everything that had happened there hadn't really been any opportunity to get a wardrobe together for her. She had worn some little clothes that Emily had but they had swallowed her up. Kim had given some of her old clothes for Hannie, that while a little loose, at least fit her to some degree.

She didn't think that Hannie would want to go shopping and though the Clearwater's were not wealthy they weren't destitute. They really needed to get her some decent clothes. It was the least that could be done for the girl. Before she could think anything more, there was a knock on the front door. Johannah froze in place with a panicked look in her eyes and Leah patted her leg comfortingly before she went to answer the door.


	15. Chapter 15

There was a UPS man standing on the porch with three large boxes on his handcart. "Delivery for Johannah Bailey-Clearwater," he said, extending his clipboard and Leah felt her jaw drop. _Who the hell was sending Hannie packages?_ Wordlessly she scribbled her name and handed him back the electronic pen.

"Do you need me to bring them inside?" His question was perfunctory and she shook her head. "No thanks, I've got it."

She wasn't sure what she expected as she looked at the three tan cubes, but suspicion was definitely in the forefront of her mind. _What if whoever killed her mother knew she was here?_ At the same time she thought that she dismissed it as crazy. She leaned in to sniff the boxes, but there was no dangerous chemical smell. _Well thank god it wasn't a bomb_, she smiled at her own wacky thought.

"Hannie," she called as the brown box truck lumbered away down the road. She heard soft footsteps and the girl materialized in the doorway. "You got some packages," Leah said in a light tone and raised an eyebrow. The girl stared at her as if she thought it was a joke. Leah pointed to the large white labels.

"Seriously, look your name is right on them." Johannah took a few steps closer and gaped when she saw her name clearly printed. She looked up to Leah and back again.

"Who sent them?" she asked quietly and Leah shrugged.

"Open them up and see what you got." This suggestion was met with a vehement shake of her head as she pressed up against Leah's side.

"You," she said as she gripped Leah's arm in a vice grip. Leah pulled her keys from her pocket and slit the tape on the first box. She wasn't sure what was inside of the cardboard containers but she didn't want to chance something bad and have them in the living room. She opened the flaps and stared. While she sliced open the next two, Hannie dug her hands into the box and started pulling things out. Each new item made her eyes go wider and she started smiling hugely. All three boxes held everything she could need.

There were clothes and shoes, accessories, a back pack, light cosmetics and toiletries. There were a couple of nice stuffed animals and a few DVD's. In the third box there was a gift bag with notebooks and folders, coloring pencils and all the writing utensils one would need for school and home. There was also a small jewelry box that held a few pieces of jewelry that looked to be decent quality. Tucked between some clothes was a large red box and a greeting card in a sealed enveloped was taped on top.

Leah handed it to Hannie. "See who it's from," she encouraged. Johannah hesitated before reaching out and taking it like it was a snake ready to strike. She lifted the lid of the red box and smiled when she saw it was full of chocolate truffles.

"I love these!" she said spontaneously and Leah chuckled. Everyone in the Clearwater family knew how much Hannie loved chocolate since she was two years old. She shoved a chocolate in her mouth and held them out in offering to Leah. She set the chocolate box on one of the cardboard boxes and opened the card slowly. The front of the card had a picture of a dark haired girl that looked similar to Hannie. She had angel wings and a halo and was blowing kisses.

She opened the card and looked at the message. It had been a blank card and the writing was ambiguous. The neat print was concise.

_For the most special earthbound angel…_

_ This is to start your life with the people who love you._

_You deserve so much more than this, but remember _

_each time you touch these things and wear them, _

_there is someone who loves you most of all…_

Hannie wrinkled her nose at the message and then looked at Leah. "Who sent it?" She asked again and Leah was stumped. _Who would send all of this to the little girl?_ The clothing, though not terribly expensive, was decent brands. There were things from Gap, Old Navy, Macy's, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, H&M and a few other mall type stores. The oddest thing about the assortment of clothes and shoes was that there were a few different sizes present; as if the sender knew that there would be a need for bigger clothing in the near future.

_Alice!_ The thought popped into her head and though she thought it possible, the message in the card had her pausing. _There is someone who loves you most of all._ As far as she knew, the Cullen's didn't even know about Johannah. She supposed Carlisle could have told them about her, but they hadn't met her so why would Alice write that she loved her most. It was worth asking about though.

She lifted a box in her arms and brought it inside. Hannie followed with the smallest one and Leah retrieved the last one. She brought them into her room; Hannie was staying with her for the present time being. When Leah was out at night, she slept with Sue. It was an unspoken thought, but they all knew that she needed to be with one of them when she slept. The poor girl had been alone for so long and now, it was like if she wasn't with someone she knew for even ten minutes, she got anxious.

Leah yanked out hangers from her closet and threw them on the bed. Her closet and dresser were kind of bare since over half of her clothes had been shredded in her first few months of phasing. Now, she and Johannah worked together and hung up all of the clothes that would fit her now. Anything too big was kept folded and stacked in one of the boxes. Her underwear, socks, leggings and tights, tank tops, pj's and shorts went into the drawers Leah cleared out for her.

When they turned over the gift bag onto the bag, all of the books and pens slid out. Coming after them was a large bright pink shoe box which had been concealed by the items that had been set on top of it.

When Hannie lifted the lid she simply stared.

"Whoa!" Leah said as she too stared. Inside the box were four iPhones. Underneath were charging cords and four sets of Bose ear buds. There was a white envelope tucked in the side of the box and Leah pulled it out when Hannie made no move to take it.

_Sue Clearwater_, it said across the front in the same clear print as the card. As curious as she was, Leah wasn't rude enough to open a sealed envelope addressed to her mother.

"What are those?" Hannie asked and Leah swiveled her head to stare at her little cousin. _Seriously?_ _Oh yeah, hasn't been in civilization for forever_, her mind corrected her mental question.

"Those," she said pointing to the phones, "are the best, top of the line cell phones. They cost a shit load of money too," she added. _Who the hell had enough money to send all of this stuff,_ she wondered. They must not know much about her family, because though they weren't dirt poor, they definitely weren't well off enough to pay a four line ATT iPhone bill. _Alice?_ But somehow she wasn't too sure it was the little shopaholic vampire. She knew how much Leah hated charity, but Leah thought that maybe she reasoned it wasn't stuff for Leah specifically. Whatever, she would ask tomorrow.

Hannie's nose wrinkled again. "I thought cell phones folded in half." It was almost unbelievable that she was truly stumped, but Leah knew she wasn't faking her confusion.

"Some cheap ones do. They were popular years ago, but now people want smart phones." That seemed to confuse Johannah further but she didn't make a comment on it. Before they could do anything further, the front door opened and they heard Seth come in the house talking to someone else. Leah rolled her eyes and sighed when she heard the answering voices before stomping down the hall.

"What are you guys doing here?" she demanded without preamble.

"What?" Seth asked defensively as he picked up the remote. The three pack members that were with him plunked down on the couch as he went into the kitchen. As he started grabbing containers of dip and salsa from the fridge, Leah followed behind him and glared.

"Why are you four _here_, in this house?" He looked at her stumped.

"Um, cause I live here," he said half way timid and half cocky. She smacked him upside the back of his head and he ducked as he went to the cupboard.

"Ow, jeez Leah, why are you so pissy today?"

"Me and Hannie are watching TV and now you all are taking up the living room and she'll stay in my room forever." He instantly looked contrite.

"Ah man, I thought she would be at Emily's so I said we should come here so she wouldn't have to go hide." Leah could see that he was sincere and she sighed again. It really was hard to stay mad at Seth; he was just such a damn _good _kid.

"It's fine," she said, "I'll just do something else with her." She turned and went back to her room and she heard him plunk the dips and bags of chips on the coffee table before hurrying after her. She was already in her room when he caught up and she flopped down on the bed where Hannie was sitting.

"Hi Hannie," he said with a kind smile to their cousin. She smiled back, "hey Seth." His mouth dropped open and he goggled at her. "Whoa! You…"

"Yes, Seth, she spoke. What do you want?" He stared at Johannah for a few more seconds and then glanced at Leah.

"We can go if you guys want the TV." Leah shook her head.

"No it's fine." He shrugged and ambled down the hall into the living room.

"Can we eat?" Johannah asked her in the soft raspy tone that Leah was quickly getting to know. She sat up on the bed. "Sure, what would you like?" Hannie shrugged. "Anything?"

The great thing about this girl was that she wasn't picky in the least. She was just so thankful to have food that she would eat anything set before her.

"I'll be right back," Leah said. She looked in the fridge and growled in irritation when she realized there wasn't anything to eat. She remembered that her mom said she was stopping at the store on her way home. She went back to her room. "Um, I'm going to pick up some food. Do you want to come with me?" Hannie's green eyes were round in her thin face and she shook her head.

"Can I stay here with Seth?" Leah smiled. "Of course you can." She walked to the living room and glared at her brother. "I'm going to pick up something for Hannie to eat. Don't leave here until I get back and don't any of you bother her. Do you hear me?" Four sets of eyes stared at her and nodded in unison.

She smiled to herself as she left the house. She could be scary when she wanted to be and she figured it was a good thing when you wanted to keep four rowdy teenage boys in line. She headed to the nearest food joint and ordered burgers and fries. Being nice, she ordered extra for the boys. On the way home she stopped and bought a couple two liter sodas at the convenience store.

All four boys looked up when she walked in the house. Their eyes looked hopeful as they smelled the hot burgers and saw the small grease stains on the paper bags. Deciding to torture them for a few minutes, a girl had to get her kicks some way; she walked into the kitchen with the food. She unwrapped two cheeseburgers and put them on a plate with a large order of fries. She repeated the process before going down the hall to her room.

"Do you want to eat here or at the table?" she asked Johannah. The younger girl worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she considered.

"Just us at the table?" When Leah nodded affirmative at her question she hunched her shoulders before nodding. She was trying to not be scared of strange people and she figured if Leah and Seth trusted the people they let into their house, then she was safe. She slipped her hand into Leah's as they went back to the kitchen. When they passed the doorway to the living room, she pressed into Leah's side to hide herself from whoever was with Seth.

"Do you want more than this?" Leah asked handing her the plate. She almost swooned from the aroma wafting off the plate. She shook her head as she sat at the table. She really liked sitting at a table with a plate under her food. It helped to reaffirm that she really was back in real life and her family members seemed to get it.

She took a huge bite of the juicy burger and gave a small moan. _Oh my god it was so good!_ Leah smiled before taking the greasy sacks back to the living room. "Don't even think of coming into the kitchen," she ordered as she set them and a two liter of soda in front of the boys. She plunked down a stack of plastic cups and a wad of napkins beside the food. They dove in like starving beasts and nodded at her command.

Johannah and Leah at quietly in the kitchen but it wasn't an awkward silence. When they had finished, Johannah rinsed her own plate off and set it beside the sink. Leah followed suit and turned towards the door.

"Who's with Seth?" Hannie whispered. Leah smiled; _curiosity – this was good._

"Embry, Collin and Brady," she whispered back. Hannie nodded and moved to the doorway. As they passed by, Hannie slowed down and Leah stopped with her. She peeked around Leah and looked at the boys sitting in the living room with Seth. They were finishing the last of their food and she studied each face for a moment. She felt her hands go slick and her heart pound faster as she stared at one of them. She looked at Leah, panicky all of the sudden, and Leah seemed to understand that she had reached her limit of nerves and hustled her back to the room.

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><p>Johannah stared up at the ceiling in the darkened room. Leah was sleeping soundly beside her and it was comforting to feel her warmth and hear her breathing. She hadn't been able to fall asleep yet. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw <em>his<em> face and her hands got all sweaty and her heart beat faster. She didn't know why he made her feel this way. She didn't even understand _what_ he made her feel like. She just knew that the image of his face made her _feel_ intensely. _What was his name_ she wondered? She tried to block his image from her mind but gave up after a while. In another hour, she felt drowsy and somehow now his face didn't make her feel anxious, it made her feel almost safe. She thought that was weird but didn't think on it more as sleep claimed her.

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><p><strong><em>Any thoughts who sent Hannie the boxes? Or which wolf will be her imprint?<em>**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm sorry for the delay but I have been focusing on going with my inspiration and writing quality work. I have over 28,000 words for this story and two others written and now will begin posting like a maniac. (Or whenever I get internet available.) Thank you so much for reading and for those of you who review, you seriously don't know how much I appreciate it. It is what I look forward to every time I open my email! ... Sari :)**

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><p>It was ridiculous that she felt like a teenager sneaking into her own home; after all she was the mother and ultimate authority in her household. But still, she did.<p>

Sue chuckled ruefully as she turned off her car's engine. It was barely dawn and she was fairly certain that her children, Johannah included, were still sleeping. At least she hoped they were. She had spent the night at Charlie's house; he had been feeling lonely for the past week. Most of her attention had been focused on Hannie and she realized it wasn't fair to him. Especially since she had yet to tell him that they had found Johannah.

With Charlie being the chief of police, he would be duty bound to report her found as there was a nationwide missing person's case on her that was still active. She really didn't want to burden him with another _'need to know'_ issue, more so because it interfered with his job. He was a damn good cop and she was very proud of him. There was also the thought that Johannah would not take kindly to him. She had found out just a few days ago that her Uncle Harry had died and somehow Sue knew that introducing a new man to her would likely cause the girl distress.

She unlocked the front door and walked in quietly. The living room was dark and as she went down the hallway she peeked in Seth's room. He was sprawled facedown on his bed wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. A quick look in Leah's room revealed her asleep also, but there was no Hannie in bed with her. Slightly concerned, Sue looked in her own bedroom but her bed was undisturbed. She backtracked down the hall and went to the kitchen. She smiled when she saw the little figure at the counter. Johannah was spreading peanut butter on toast and had a large bowl of Cheerios and milk beside her. She ate a spoonful of cereal and then spread the next piece of toast. Sue watched the scenario with an immense feeling of happiness. Between squirting honey on the peanut butter and then spreading it in a thin layer, she took another bite of cereal. Her little hands were quite competent as she worked and when she turned with them full of food, she saw her aunt in the doorway. She looked unsure but then smiled a little.

"I was hungry," she said in a soft voice. Sue didn't respond right away. It was the first time she had heard her speak.

"It's okay," she reassured Hannie. She sat at the table with her as she ate. The girl swung her bare legs as she munched on her toast. Sue realized she was wearing clothes that were unfamiliar and actually fit correctly. She looked them over. It was a matched set of pajamas; lavender shorts and a tank top with little tan and yellow monkeys printed on them. Johannah saw her looking and glanced down at them.

"Oh!" she said with a startled look. She set her toast down and darted down the hallway towards Leah's room. She returned a moment later with a white envelope in her hand. "This is for you. It came with all my clothes."

Surprised at Hannie talking and very curious about the envelope she held extended, Sue took it. **Sue Clearwater,** it said across the front in neat yet unfamiliar hand writing. She opened it and pulled out the contents. There were three sheets of white paper and she unfolded them. Her face looked more and more confused as she read the top page and Johannah watched her carefully as she ate the rest of her early morning breakfast.

"Hey," Leah said sleepily from the kitchen doorway. She frowned at Johannah as if she couldn't figure out what she was doing.

"I was hungry," the girl repeated as she shoveled another bite of Cheerios. Leah chuckled and crossed to sit down with them. She groaned as she laid her head on her folded arms, "it is way too early to be awake." She bolted straight up in her chair when she saw her mother was reading the letter addressed to her.

"Does it say who it's from?" she asked without any precursor. Sue shook her head and turned confused eyes to Leah.

"No, I don't understand what they are talking about," she said as she handed the top sheet of paper to Leah. Leah took the page and began speed reading down it.

_Dear Sue,_

_I realize that a few boxes of clothing are completely inadequate to make amends for everything Johannah has suffered through. I have failed her and though I could say I had no choice, there is always a choice. I hope that the things sent are useful for her. _

_I know that in these economical times it is hard to make ends meet. As I am quite comforted in the knowledge that she is in your hands, I feel it only right to make sure that she is cared for in the financial sense without being a burden on you. There is no one better suited to heal her emotional wounds than you and Leah and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking her in. _

_The two documents with this note should be everything you need. Just take them with photo ID to Dale at the Bank of America in Forks and you should be set. The phone bill is already set up for automatic payment and is a two year contract. It comes out of the bank account. The paperwork is in the shoebox._

_I hope to see her again someday, but if I do not, love Johannah enough for me too._

_Thank you…. _

"UPS brought three boxes yesterday," Leah said by way of explanation to her mother. "There were a lot of clothes, shoes and everything else Hannie needed immediately." Johannah nodded as she kept eating.

"There's four phones too," she said quietly as she finished her bite.

"iPhones!" Leah clarified and Sue looked at her puzzled.

"Who would send all of this? I don't even know anyone that has enough money to buy four iPhones, let alone set up a bank account for someone else."

Johannah crept around the table and looked at the letter. She froze and felt her breath catch in her throat. The achingly familiar writing made her want to cry and her stomach contracted in painful spasms. She turned and went into the kitchen pretending to get a glass of water and she was relieved when neither Sue nor Leah seemed to notice. She heard her aunt and cousin speaking but didn't understand the words they said. There was a buzzing in her ears and she felt dizzy as if the room was rotating around her. She tried to hold her body still as she felt herself begin to shake. Her face felt wet and she wiped at her cheeks realizing she was crying.

_Why did he leave her?_ She was crying and screaming in her mind but remained mute. _Why would he leave her alone for all those years?_

"Hannie?" Leah called her name in a questioning tone. She wiped her face as surreptitiously as possible. She turned and tried to smile at Leah; tried but failed. It came off as more of a grimace. Leah vaulted from her seat and crossed to her instantly. She grabbed Johannah's face and looked at her worriedly.

"Why are you crying, baby?" Johannah bit her bottom lip and felt more tears swimming in her eyes. She felt like she was choking and couldn't answer her. She felt hotter and she was shaking again but she forced herself to stop. She looked at Leah and then at Sue.

"It's Daddy," she said simply. Both women had blank looks for a moment and she pointed to the letter. "It's daddy's writing." Sue was stunned but realized immediately that it did make sense. She hadn't thought of Johannah's father for a long time simply because the situation between him and Kaiya had been so odd. After Kaiya's death he had not contacted them again.

"You think this is your father's handwriting?" she asked Johannah. The girl nodded with her big sad eyes. "He always sent me letters when he worked."

Sue thought of that. Hugh Bailey had worked overseas and had only spent several months a year with his wife and daughter. From the things Kaiya had said, they had a very good marriage though they didn't see each other much. When Sue had asked her once how she could stand to be away from him so much, Kaiya had smiled in this weird way and said that _"sometimes there are things more important than your own personal life. Sometimes you have to take what you could or loose it all."_

So, Hugh was alive, and somehow he knew that Johannah wasn't dead and that she was here with them. _How had he found out?_ It was really weird.

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><p>Johannah hid in Leah's room. She was sobbing into Leah's pillow; it was comforting that it smelled like her. She was aware that her aunt and older cousin knew she was crying but they seemed to understand that she needed to be alone for a little while. Somehow she had known in a deep, dark part of her mind that her father was alive, but she had convinced herself over they years that there was something keeping him from looking for her. She <em>knew<em> that if he could, he would find her and save her from whatever it was she had become.

But now, seeing his all too familiar writing on the letter made her feel totally devastated. _Why had he not come and found her?_ _**Eight years!**_ Eight years she was all alone in the form of a dog; _wolf_ said the Leah voice in her mind.

She wanted to see _him_. She felt so alone and confused and somehow the image of Seth's friend came to her mind. She thought of his face, how he looked when he smiled and joked with Seth. She needed him. Her crying turned from sorrow over being abandoned by her father to quiet whimpers, just wanting _him_. He would make her happy, if she could just see him. She fell asleep worn out from crying and dreamed of Embry.

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><p>Sue sat dumbfounded. She had brought the papers that had come with the letter from Johannah's dad to the bank and was now staring at the paperwork for the account. She had expected… well she<em> hadn't<em> expected this!

"Mrs. Clearwater, is everything okay?" She nodded mutely but couldn't stop staring at the paper in her hand. _Forty thousand dollars!_ She was just shocked.

"There is an automatic transfer in place of six thousand dollars a month that will show up on the fifteenth of each month. There are also two debit cards issued, one in your name and one in the name of Leah Clearwater." He handed those across to her and looked at his computer screen before handing her a white and gold debit card.

"This is a prepaid debit card that can be reloaded with any amount. Though it has a name it is not connected to the account." Sue looked at the small card and it had _Johannah Clearwater_ stamped across the front in square silver letters. Dale, the man at the bank was looking at her as if he wasn't sure she was really okay. She gave a small distracted smile to show him that she was fine. Well, that wasn't strictly true. She was absolutely floored.

Dale quickly finished up his end of things and had her sign a few papers. He gave her a red folder containing her papers and shook her hand. "If you need anything at all, my card is stapled to the folder." She nodded and left the bank in a daze.

As she drove away towards home, the new phone in her pocket buzzed. She pulled it out as she stopped at a red light and thought for the tenth time that she really would have preferred a simpler phone. But Seth and Leah had been so excited and had the phones up and running before lunch. She had to admit there was a certain excitement about having something so new.

There was a text message from an unfamiliar number and she opened it.

_I'm glad you accepted. Please know that the money is not only for Johannah. Please take care of your whole family. You all deserve it… H.B._

H.B. Hugh Bailey? She smiled a little. Well, he certainly had quick lines of communication. She wasn't sure what she felt about his actions, but she could see thus far that he was trying to care for his daughter in some way. She wasn't going to complain. She would never squander the money of another, but she did admit a little more money would help in feeding and clothing the kids. She changed her mind last minute and detoured to the grocery store. Might as well stock up now.

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><p><strong>So yes,<em> she<em> imprinted on Embry... She doesn't know it yet. She doesn't know why she needs him but she will soon! :)** R&R if you have a sec.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, people! Here's another one! Let me know what you think.**

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><p>It was dinnertime for the wolf pack. Surprisingly, no one had gathered at Emily's house; rather a bunch of them were congregated at the Clearwater house. When Aunt Sue had returned from Forks and called Seth to help her unload the car, he had just about choked when he saw what his mother had bought. It was almost as much food as Emily bought on her monthly shopping excursion, but with all of his and Leah's favorite foods. Johannah helped them unload the car and when everything was put away she had hesitantly asked Sue if she could help make dinner.<p>

Seth had asked if Collin and Brady could come for dinner. Sue said sure and when the rest of the pack found out there was food at the Clearwater's most of them had invited themselves along. Aunt Sue asked Johannah what she wanted to have for dinner and Hannie thought about all her favorite meals.

"Chicken Fajitas," she decided and they set to work. She loved cooking and she enjoyed it even more with Aunt Sue. She felt comfortable and safe in the Clearwater's house – _her house now too_, she supposed - and though she didn't talk much, they had a really nice afternoon that included laughter and conversation.

"Are you going to be okay if people come over for dinner?" Sue asked her when dinner was almost ready. She thought about it for a minute. She had promised Leah she would try to get to know her and Seth's friends. They trusted them so she knew that they wouldn't hurt her. She nodded. "I think so."

Leah had come in a little while ago dressed in only cut off shorts and a tank top, all covered in dirt and Hannie had just stared with her mouth agape. Aunt Sue and Seth didn't look surprised by her filthy state so she didn't say anything. When Leah had come back to the kitchen after a shower, Hannie looked at her uncertainly until Leah smiled and asked how her afternoon was.

"It was awesome! We cooked dinner!" For her it was a considerable amount of words in one stretch. Leah gave an appreciative groan. "I could smell it a mile away. I'm starving." She had helped them get everything finished up and set out on a long table in the back yard. Seth grilled the marinated chicken breasts while the women took care of everything else.

Hannie suddenly tensed when she saw a large figure headed towards the house. She was helping Leah arrange everything on the buffet table and Seth and Leah watched her carefully. She pressed closer to Leah but didn't flee into the safety of the house. The huge man, _he really was humongous,_ made it to where they were standing. Leah had an arm around her shoulders and looked down at her with a smile.

"Hannie, this is Jacob. He's a really good friend of ours." He smiled and she was momentarily arrested by how brilliantly white his smile was.

"Hi Hannie." He didn't try to touch her or crowd her, merely greeted her in a friendly tone. She gave a tentative smile back. _She should try to be nice for Leah_, she thought.

"Hi," her voice was tiny but she said it. Seth grinned wide as he wielded his tongs and Leah squeezed her a little and Johannah could feel their pride in her. Jacob helped them get the rest of the food outside, never moving into her personal space or staring at her. _He was actually nice,_ Johannah thought. When the last bag of corn chips was put on the table, large, half dressed boys started appearing in the Clearwater's back yard.

Leah and Seth introduced her to the different people. There were the two young boys that had been with Seth yesterday; Collin and Brady. There was also Jacob's sister Rachel and an intense looking man named Paul. He made her nervous. There was Quil who had brought a little girl with him named Claire. _Was she his little sister?_ There was a boy that looked even younger than Collin and Brady named Takoda. He seemed really shy and she felt the most comfortable around him.

It was a nice evening and there was a relaxed, happy atmosphere while everyone filled plates, laughing and talking. With the gathering of hungry people being outside, it was easier for Johannah to not be the focus of everyone. She stayed close with Leah or Sue trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Rachel was really nice to her; she was a little brash but used it mostly on the boys. They genuinely seemed a little scared of her and Johannah thought it was funny that such huge boys & men could be nervous around such a small woman.

By the time she had finished eating, Hannie swore that one wrong move would make her hurl. She had eaten way too much food, but it was so good she couldn't stop. The boys didn't seem to have any trouble with over eating though. As soon as dinner had been finished, Seth scooped the still glowing coals out of the grill and put them in the clay fire bowl. He added some logs and a few minutes later there was a blazing fire. He had run into the house and come back out with bags of marshmallows, boxes of Graham crackers and Hershey bars. Everyone started roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.

Hannie hadn't thought she could eat anything else, but when she smelled the hot melting chocolate and sweet toasted marshmallows she found she couldn't refuse. Seth took it upon himself to be her marshmallow roaster and all she had to do was sit on the end of the table assembling s'mores. She made Seth some too so that he could keep toasting and she saw Aunt Sue smile when she saw them working together. She extended a hot s'more and Sue took it with a murmured thanks.

Hannie felt surprisingly calm and peaceful. She had expected to be nervous and uncomfortable in the presence of a lot of people, but somehow Seth and Leah's friends made her feel warm and safe. They didn't pay too close attention to her, but instead just treated her as if she had been with them forever. Everyone seemed to realize that not speaking to her directly kept her happy and comfortable but if someone did say something to her she tried to smile or nod.

After five s'mores she shook her head when Seth held out another marshmallow. She groaned out loud when she slid off the table to stand up. She seriously felt nauseous and really hoped she didn't throw up. Leah was sitting on the other side of the fire and she moved around and slipped onto the low bench next to her. Leah smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Are you okay?"

"I feel sick," she moaned. That made Leah chuckle and Jacob, who was sitting beside her, laughed too. "You put away a ton of food," he said to her with a twinkle in his eyes. She nodded and leaned against Leah. She was full and tired and she closed her eyes, lulled into a light doze as she lay against Leah's warm side.

"Where's Embry tonight?" She heard Leah ask Jacob and she only half listened for his answer.

Embry. _Wasn't that the name of Seth's other friend?_ _**His**_ name, the one she kept thinking about. She smiled as she thought of his face again. Everything about him made her want to see him again. She needed to see him, _needed_ to be near him.

"I gave him early patrol so he can get home at a reasonable hour. His mom is riding him like a crazy woman." Jacob's answer was heavy with responsibility and Hannie could tell he felt bad for Embry. _Embry_… it was a weird name; but she liked it because it was his name. She scooted down on the bench and laid her head in Leah's lap as she thought of him. She had only seen his face once but she felt so warm and squishy inside when she pictured it.

"I thought she was a bitch for a long time," Leah said quietly as she played with Johannah's hair. "But then I was thinking the other day. She's raised him by herself his whole life with no support whatsoever from his father. She has been a hundred percent responsible for him, physically, financially and emotionally. Now all the sudden he changes overnight. He starts hanging out with 'Sam's gang', cuts his hair, grows at a freakish rate and leaves the house every night with not a word of communication to her. She doesn't know that he's not out doing drugs and sleeping with every girl in sight or doing something illegal. She only knows what the rez gossip is and it doesn't sound very good from the end of those who aren't in the loop."

Leah paused and took a breath. "His life would be so much easier if he just told her what he really was."

"I know, but he won't. He says the pack's secret is too important and there is no way to tell how she'll react. He thinks she'll flip out and go to the authorities if he was to tell her." Jacob's voice was grave and Johannah felt the movement as Leah nodded.

"I know; I just wish there was some way to convince her to let up on him. If we could somehow get her to understand that he isn't into any trouble with out telling her exactly what he is, it would make his life so much easier."

_Some way to convince Embry's mother to be nice to him_; Johannah smiled as she tuned out the rest of their conversation. _What was it that her daddy used to tell her?_ Oh yeah, _'she was a persuader; she could mesmerize anyone to think or believe what she wanted them to'._ She _wanted_ Embry to be happy and she knew that to be happy, he needed his mother to be nice to him. She could do that for him, she could make his mother know that he wasn't into any trouble. _How would she find her though?_ She didn't have more conscious thoughts as she sank into a deeper sleep. She was peaceful, happy as she dreamed of him.

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><p>Johannah knocked softly on Seth's door. At his shouted, "come in," she opened it and stepped into his room. He was sprawled across his bed, his attention wholly focused on his iPhone. He really loved his phone and Hannie was glad her father had sent them. She didn't get what was so great about them but she figured out how to use it she might like it as much as Leah and Seth did.<p>

"Um, can you help me for a second?" she asked hesitantly. He looked over at her as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed.

"Sure what's up?" Hannie just walked back down the short hallway and opened the closet that was at the end. She pointed to the top shelf.

"Can you get that box of books for me?" He pulled it down with one hand and handed it to her. She smiled her thanks and went down to the living room. He followed and flopped on the couch next to her. She started taking the books out and looking over the covers. A lot of them were Leah's from when she was a young teen.

"So you like to read?" he asked as he continued to do something on his phone. She nodded as she took out another small stack of books.

"Yep." He smirked at her one word answer.

"Me personally, I don't mind reading but this is much more fun." He indicated the phone in his hands and she couldn't resist leaning over to peek at his phone. She watched what he was doing and had to admit it looked really fun… whatever it was.

"What is it?" she asked and he grinned at her.

"Angry Birds." She watched him for a few more minutes and the looked up at him. "Does my phone have it?"

He shrugged as he kept his eyes on the screen. "We can download it." She darted down the hall and retrieved her phone from Leah's room. She turned it on as she went back to the living room. When she sat back down next to Seth she held the phone out to him. He took it and tapped the shiny glass screen a dozen times. She watched with fascination at how fast he worked it. In a minute he handed it back to her.

"It's downloading. When that bar is filled, it will be ready to go." She watched as the bar slowly changed color and when it was done she looked at him expectantly. So, like a good cousin, he gave her a quick tutorial in how to play Angry Birds. Johannah was a quick learner and she caught on immediately. The two of them sat on the couch with their respective phones, the silence only broken occasionally by little sounds of delight from Hannie. There was suddenly a wolf whistle from outside and Seth sighed as he stood and stripped off his shirt.

"Duty calls, I'll be back later." She smiled at him as he went out the front door. She went to the window to see who was waiting for him. _It was Embry!_ Oh and Collin, but she wasn't focused on him. He was further out by the trees but Embry was near the porch. He grinned at Seth and stripped off his shirt before they took off running towards Collin. She watched as the shirt floated down and landed on the porch railing. When she couldn't see the boys anymore, she went out and snatched it up. She brought it to her face and sniffed it and hoped no one saw her smell it. That would look really creepy right?

She smiled as she memorized his scent. He smelled really good and somehow having something that was so strongly him made what she always felt when she thought about him so much more intense. She had an almost uncontrollable urge to run after him but she resisted. Instead she breathed in his scent one more time before she tucked his shirt under her pillow. No one was home but her, she didn't think it had been done intentionally, but she was glad for once. She had somewhere important she needed to go.


	18. Chapter 18

Johannah walked along the road, following his smell. She could tell Embry came this way and she paused when his scent became concentrated. It was a small A frame house with weathered clapboard siding. There were flower beds that looked as if they had once been well cared for but were now overrun with weeds. She stood uncertainly but the curiosity was overwhelming and she moved closer to the house. She could hear a television playing inside the house and her heart beat faster when she thought it could be _him_ in there watching it. But then she remembered that Seth said they were _'going east'_ today and she let out the breath she hadn't been aware of holding.

The back door opened and she moved silently around the side of the house and saw a woman walking towards the clothes line. She hung the contents of her laundry basket quickly and Johannah made her way closer. _The woman was beautiful_, she thought, _but she looked sad and tired._ There was almost a look of pain in her eyes each time she hung up a piece of male clothing.

"Hi," Johannah spoke up and the woman's head whipped around to stare at her.

"Who are you?" her question was more surprised than anything.

"Hannie," Johannah smiled serenely and blinked in her slow, peculiar way. The woman's expression changed. Her features softened and there was the tiny beginning of a smile on her lips. _Wow, it still worked,_ Johannah thought in surprise as she saw the instant change in her face.

"Hi Hannie," she said gently.

The girl gave a full grin. "Are you Embry's mom?"

The woman frowned a little and nodded. "Yes, how did you know?" She seemed a little confused.

"I guessed," Johannah said, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you want to make me something to eat?" Her voice was oddly persuasive and she blinked again with her mile long lashes. The woman made a little face like she couldn't figure Johannah out but smiled again anyway. "Sure, what would you like?" Johannah slipped her hand into Embry's mother's as the woman went back into the house. She shrugged with the carefree signature of children everywhere. "I'm not picky. Anything is good." This brought an unexpected laugh from Embry's mother.

"Anything; just like my son." There was a flash of pain in her eyes but she looked down at the little upturned face and smiled again. There was something about those intense green eyes and when Hannie blinked in that almost slow motion way, it gave her the oddest feeling inside. The girl sat on the barstool at the kitchen counter and Tiffany Call stared at her for an instant before turning to the fridge. She _wanted_ to make this odd girl something to eat. She _felt_ it, felt _compelled_ to do it. She retrieved some cold cuts and assembled a sandwich before placing it in the George Foreman grill. She busied herself putting the food away and poured a glass of juice while the sandwich grilled. When the red light shut off she opened the lid and saw that it had perfect grill marks. It pleased her inordinately that the sandwich was perfect and she cut it in half before she put it on the plate.

Hannie's eyes were huge and she smiled when Embry's mother placed the fat sandwich in front of her. "It's Embry's favorite sandwich," his mother said and Johannah felt a little fuzzy curl of happiness in her stomach. It made the sandwich taste better, she thought as she munched on one half. It was so big that it took both hands to hold it without dropping any of the filling.

"Is it good?"

Johannah nodded eagerly at Embry's mom's question as she chewed and swallowed. "It's really good," she answered and Embry's mom smiled. Johannah thought carefully about what to say next. If she spoke wrong it could make Embry's life worse. That would be terrible, especially since she had never even spoken to him. She hadn't even looked him in the face before. She took a deep breath and concentrated what her dad called her _'mezmer'_. He said she could mesmerize anyone with her eyes, that it was a special gift she had. She smiled as she looked the older woman in the eyes.

"You aren't mad at Embry are you?" Her voice was sweet and innocent and although a little part of Tiffany's mind said she should be outraged at this child's impudence, she instead found herself wanting to reassure her.

"No, of course I'm not mad at my son. Why would you ask that?" She watched the young face, feeling almost anxious as she waited to see if her answer pleased Hannie. It was odd, a tiny part of her mind thought, but over all she felt really warm and fuzzy towards the girl. Those emerald eyes and fawn's eyelashes really were killer and she felt like she could stare into them forever.

Johannah felt nervous and wiped her hands on her shorts. _She really, really should not be doing this;_ she knew. But the other night she had heard Jacob and Leah talking about how much of a hard time Embry's mom gave him every day and she didn't want him to suffer. Seth said he loved his mom, so she knew that he needed his mother no matter how mad she was at him. She felt her shoulders draw together and recognized the funny feeling in her chest from when she was little and her dad would have her practice.

"You don't want to be upset with Embry do you?" For a split second her warm, too mature voice made Tiffany feel a sliver of fear but before she could consider the feeling she felt compelled by Johannah's words. The girl kept talking in an even tone, her eyes irresistible as she smiled and blinked. "Sometimes good people have to keep the ones they love from finding out secrets that could hurt them. Embry is very good and you _want_ to trust him because you _know_ that you raised him to be a good man. When he doesn't come home at night, you _will not_ be upset because you _know_ he is protecting the people he loves. You _want_ to be pleasant to him when he comes in after his night time shift. You _want_ to take care of him and be close to him like he _needs you_ to be. You _will believe_ that he received everything good from you and he will never hurt you or betray your trust. You _know_ that your son loves you more than anything and that when the time is right he will tell you everything. Until then, you _want_ to be happy and you _want_ a good relationship with him again."

There were tears in Tiffany Call's dark eyes as she nodded at Johannah's words. Every time she had emphasized a word, she had felt a certainty that her son really _was_ a good young man and she would trust him. She felt the need to do exactly what Johannah had said and love and care for her son.

"I have tried to be everything he needs. I'm so scared that I failed him and he's going to get in trouble. I have to protect him, he's all I have." Her voice was quavering as if she was just holding back from crying. Johannah nodded never breaking eye contact. She thought that people might have misjudged Embry's mom. She looked really lonely and heart breaking.

"Embry's mom," she said in a more normal voice. Tiffany smiled shakily. "My name's Tiffany Call." Johannah nodded. "You _want_ me to come back another time to see you, right?" Although she had not let go of the concentrated intensity within her, she was giving Mrs. Call the small opportunity to refuse her. Instead the older woman smiled a little.

"Would you like to come back?" Hannie slipped off her stool and took the two steps to Tiffany's side. She wrapped her arms around her waist and nodded.

"Of course I want to come back." Johannah took a deep breath. Mrs. Call smelled a little bit like Embry. She looked up and smiled and she felt good when Embry's mother smiled back at her. She got a different look in her eyes as she really looked at Johannah's features.

"You remind me of someone," she murmured almost to herself. Johannah stiffened as she heard footfalls approaching the house. She didn't know who could be coming here and she felt the need to leave immediately. As fast as she could, she pushed the energy from her center and felt it tingle through her arms as it met and connected in her finger tips. She pulled away quickly and smiled one last time.

"I'll come see you another time."

Tiffany Call smiled as she felt her heart almost melt at the oddly familiar smile. She nodded. "Of course, I'll see you soon." Johannah darted out the door, squelching the long buried energy back into its little hidey hole. She ran faster than she thought she could in human form until she was out of sight of the Call home. She slowed down and entered the Clearwater house calmly. There was still no one home so she settled down on the couch and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She really liked the Angry Birds game. She was still there twenty minutes later when her Aunt Sue came home.

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><p>Barely a mile away, the door to a small messy bedroom opened slowly and Tiffany Call looked around. She didn't go into her son's room much anymore. She had been too angry and fearful of what was happening with him. She had heard all of the rumors around the reservation of Sam Uley and his 'gang' of boys. When Embry had started to hang out with them, she had more reasons than just one to be afraid of him getting into trouble with Sam Uley. She felt guilty now about how much she had lost by being angry with him. She used to be close to him; he was really a sweet boy and now as she thought about it, she wondered how much her hysterical ranting had affected him. She stepped further into the room and picked up a pair of shorts. She smiled with affection; <em>he was never a very neat person<em>.

It took her an hour to clean his room. She took out two full baskets of dirty laundry, vacuumed and mopped, dusted all the surfaces and cleared out a considerable stack of cups and dishes. _He did eat a lot!_ She washed his bedding and remade the bed. She did four loads of his clothes and reorganized his dresser drawers. And she realized as she did these things, that taking care of her son this way made her so much happier than nursing her fear and anger.

She dozed later on, but stayed on the living room couch. She needed to see her son when he got home, when ever it may be, and she wasn't going to harass him about his whereabouts. _Maybe she would make him breakfast_… he always seemed to be hungry these days.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hmm, I think I need a new summary for this story. I've been posting chapters really often, yet I am barely getting any hits on the story. Kind of depressing… Oh well, to you few and faithful: Thank you for following this story and my other ones – Cold Dusk & Vita Mirabilis. Hope you like these next two chapters.**

**Also... a little cursing from a few of the wolves; just warning you. :) Happy Trails my readers.  
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><p>"I don't know what the fuck is going on." All eyes turned on Embry as he stomped into Sam and Emily's house. They were not used to outbursts from him and every one stared in silence as he threw himself on the couch without even looking at the food. Jacob was the first to speak.<p>

"What's wrong?" His best friend looked at him with stormy dark eyes.

"Hell froze over and the devil's playing hockey." There was more gaping at him and he ran a hand over his face with a groan.

"When I got off patrol and went home, my mom was up." There was a collective murmur of sympathy. Every one in the pack knew how his mother harangued Embry every morning about his sneaking out.

"Ah man, I'm sorry," Jake said with heartfelt regret. As Embry's Alpha, he felt guilty for putting him in his situation, not matter how unavoidable it was. Embry looked at him with a stunned expression.

"That's what I don't understand. She was waiting up and I thought, _goddamn she's gonna start in on me and I'm so freakin' tired I can't see straight._ I went into the kitchen to get a drink and she followed me in. I thought, _here we go_. But no." He sat up straight on the couch. "She said, '_hi!'_ Like all uncertain but nice. I looked at her and she smiled at me. I thought it was just a royal mind fuck before she ripped into me."

"She actually asked me if I was hungry; she could make me something if I was. I was too confused to do anything and said sure. She made me sandwiches and got me a drink and sat down when I was eating. And she told me that _'she wanted me to know she trusted me. Whatever it was that I felt was important to keep leaving at night for, she knew she had tried her best to teach me right and wrong'_." His dark eyes were baffled as he continued on.

"She said that she just worries because I'm all she has and she wants me to have a good life and not get mixed up in anything that could hurt me. I just said okay."

"She had cleaned my room and did my laundry. My sheets were even changed when I went to bed. I just got up like an hour ago and she made me breakfast. I swear to god, there was a fucking mountain of food and she was all nice again. She actually hugged me when she left for work."

No one moved or said anything, all trying to imagine Tiffany Call in a role other than the harping shrew of Embry's morning memories.

"Why is this a bad thing? Isn't this what you want; your mom cool with your bizarre sleep schedule?" This was spoken from the ever optimistic Seth.

"Yeah, no, I mean it's great but I don't know if it's for real or she's just messing with my head to get me to fess up to whatever I do." He stood up and started pacing back and forth. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and then flopped back into the couch.

"It's for real." If it hadn't been a room full of wolves with supersonic hearing, no one would have caught the quiet words. Embry had the weirdest feeling when he heard the soft voice and he turned to see who had spoken. The moment his eyes locked on the small figure standing near the kitchen he forgot everything he had just been talking about.

_Holy Hell!_

He stood up slowly like he was in a trance. He didn't see anyone else in the room as he stared at the small girl that now watched him with hesitation. He started feeling weirdly dizzy and he sucked in air, realizing that he had been holding his breath. She had the greenest eyes he had ever seen and he wanted to look into them for more than just a second.

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and her gaze darted around the room only glancing at him every other second. His heart beat impossibly fast as he memorized every detail of her. He couldn't describe what he was feeling as he looked at her in his new stupor. _She was beautiful, she was perfect._

_Who _was_ she? _

_She was his_, his inner wolf growled in answer to his mind's question. Nothing on earth mattered to him anymore, it was all her. He felt a ridiculous smile spread across his face as he stepped slowly towards her. She looked him in the eyes when he smiled and gave a little one in return. He felt the overwhelming need to hug her.

_Had he just imprinted? _

_Of course he had,_ he thought with a mental head slap. _How could this perfect being be anything less than the universe for him? _

"Hi," he breathed the word out in reverence.

She ran.

_WTF?_

He heard his pack brothers start laughing around him and the spell broke. He glared in their direction before he looked back to where she had run. She had disappeared into the laundry room and it suddenly hit him who she was.

_Oh fuck! Leah was going to **kill** him._

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><p>Emily shushed the boys' teasing and went down the hall to Johannah. The small girl was pacing the room with a panicked look. She turned to look at Emily.<p>

"Why is he looking at me like that? And why are all the other ones laughing?" Emily smiled gently at the high, anxious questions. She had a feeling she knew what had just happened. If she was right, Embry had just imprinted on Johannah.

"He's never seen you before and he's had a very weird morning," she said in answer. Johannah worried her lip with her teeth again and looked uncertain. Emily held out a hand to her. "Let's go finish lunch." Johannah looked uncertain and Emily motioned again, "Come on, it will be okay."

"They're going to laugh at me."

Emily shook her head. "Trust me; no one is going to laugh at you." Seeming to come to a decision, Johannah slipped her hand in Emily's and followed her back out to the kitchen area. Emily was right; no one laughed at her, but they did watch her intently which made her feel more uncomfortable than if they had laughed. She stole glances over at Embry who stared at her with a smile on his face. Every time she looked at him and saw him still looking at her it made her blush but she couldn't help herself; she needed to see him.

When all the boys were finished eating, most of them took off to work or wherever else they went. Seth stayed though, watching Johannah carefully. She had a feeling he was doing it to keep out of trouble with Leah later. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to make Leah happy. No one had said anything about Embry staying at the house but Johannah didn't know that there was anything unusual about that. What she did notice was how Sam, Paul and Jared had all grinned at him before leaving the house. Jacob and Quil had given him a slap on the back and a whispered, "Congratulations dude." Hannie had heard it but she didn't think they meant for her to.

She didn't mind that he stayed in the house. Being around him made her feel happy inside. All the confusing feelings that she had experienced from the first time she had seen the back of his head seemed to sort themselves out when she was near him. She felt safe, happy, hopeful and just peaceful and content. She wanted to make him happy, wanted him to feel the same way inside that she did. She had a need to take care of him in any way she could. She knew she was still small, but she wanted to make his life better, she wanted to make it spectacular.

_How weird was that?_ She had only seen him a few times and she was already obsessing about him almost every waking hour. Now being in his presence was sending her into a tizzy. Not knowing what to do if she were to actually sit with him, she instead stayed busy, helping Emily clear away the dishes, tossing paper plates and cups and taking the serving dishes to the sink. All the while, Embry stayed in the house following her with his eyes. It felt like when she moved, he moved with her. She peeked at him every few seconds unable to help the urge to see him. When she had wiped the table he flipped the chairs upside down on it and grabbed a broom, sweeping absently. His happy eyes on her made her feel embarrassed but at the same time she never wanted him to look away. When she looked at him she couldn't help but smile and she thought that it made him happy.

"We need to go home now," Seth said to her suddenly. She frowned at him. _Why did they need to go home now?_ He smirked and shot a look at Embry before turning back to her. "Mom's picking us up at two, remember?" Her little face scrunched up as she tried to remember why. Seth rolled his eyes.

"We're going shopping. Come on, we've gotta go." She cast one last look at Embry; it was half apologetic and half longing; she didn't want to leave him yet. He was standing in the middle of the room looking like someone had just killed his pet. She gave him a tiny smile and a wave. _He shouldn't look sad_; she had tried really hard to make things better for him. Seth merely shrugged and said, "Sorry dude."

_What did that mean?_ She was confused and torn over leaving him but followed Seth out of the house obediently. Seth headed for the woods and she didn't realize what he was doing at first. As soon as he hit the trees, he swung her up on his back. "Hold on," he instructed as he started running towards home. Their house was a ways from Sam and Emily's and though he wasn't in wolf form it was still much faster for him to run through the woods rather than walk.

The further he ran the worse Johannah felt. She wanted to launch herself from his back and run straight back to Emily's house. She felt confused at her feelings. _Why did she feel so weird?_ _Why did she feel like crying because it had been several minutes since she had seen him? _So she just held onto Seth shoulders as he ran into their backyard and dropped her gently on her feet.

"Where the hell were you?" Leah groused at them when they walked into the house. Seth rolled his eyes at her. "We had lunch at Emily's. Is mom home yet?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah, she said she was going to take a quick shower and then we're headed for the great city of Silverdale." She looked at Johannah and smiled faintly. "What's up with you?" Her question was teasing but had a thread of concern underneath. Seth chuckled.

"Embry." His one word had Leah narrowing her eyes as she glared at him.

"He didn't!"

Seth shrugged, pulled out his phone and was immediately engrossed in his apps.

"I'm going to kill him," Leah seethed and Johannah looked at her in alarm.

"You can't!" she said in a panic. _Leah couldn't kill him! Why would she kill him? _Leah's furious expression softened as she looked at Johannah.

"I'm not really going to kill him," she reassured her little cousin. Hannie looked instantly relieved and Leah smiled ironically.

_Another one bites the dust._

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><p><em>Dude, I can't believe you imprinted on Leah's little cousin. She is so totally going to kill you.<em>

Embry snarled at Jared's goading. He was running in wolf form even though it wasn't his patrol shift.

He had left Emily's after Seth had taken Johannah home. He had felt angry and upset that Seth had taken her away. _He knew she didn't want to leave him_. He didn't even realize where he was going until he saw the outline of the Clearwater's house through the trees. Feeling like an unashamed stalker, he looked through the windows from where he stood in the cover of trees. He saw Leah and Johannah moving around in the kitchen. The fridge opened and closed a few times and then he heard a high tinkling laugh. He lay down and sighed in his big wolf form as he instinctively recognized it as her laugh. It was so happy, carrying on the wind to sooth his anxiety over being separated from her.

_Dude, seriously?_ Collin's whine was like a buzzing fly and he ignored it. The back door opened and his head perked up when he saw Johannah walk out and sit on the top step. She had a bowl in her hands and she balanced it on her knees as she started munching the pile of grapes in it. Lunch hadn't even been an hour ago and she was already eating again. It worried him for some inexplicable reason. She was so skinny, _was something wrong with her? What had happened to her all the years she was lost?_ He suddenly realized that he hardly knew anything about her. Her name was Hannie… _right?_ He had heard Leah call her that and had seen it in the pack's mind a few times.

"Are you ready to go baby?" Leah bounced out onto the porch and Embry stared. _Had Leah really just bounced?_

She took the four steps off the porch with a spring in her step. _Yep, he definitely saw a bounce_. And she looked happier than usual. _Did Hannie make her happy?_

_Of course Hannie made her happy. She was the most perfect being ever born; who wouldn't be happy to be with her?_

_Really? You sound like Edward_, Jared said in a snarky tone.

_Do you want me to replay some of your thoughts when you first imprinted on Kim?_ Embry thought in retaliation.

Paul cut in then_, let's see… oh yeah. Kim is just the most beautiful girl ever born, she is utterly ravishing. I could get lost in her eyes forever and I wouldn't even fight the drowning._

Okay; so that wasn't actually something Jared had ever thought or said, but Paul's ridiculous lines were hilarious and Embry felt the collective laughter from Collin, Jared and himself.

His attention was recaptured by Hannie as she stood, tucking her grape bowl under her arm and followed Leah down the stairs and across to the Clearwater's SUV. She gave a worried look in the direction of Emily's house and seemed to not want to get into the vehicle. Seth ran out of the house and grabbed her around the waist. She shrieked in surprise as he tossed her gently into the back seat before climbing in next to her. Sue came out of the house last at a more sedate pace, checking her purse and then taking out her keys.

Embry felt an involuntary whine rise in his throat when she started the engine and backed out of the drive. The only thing that kept him from chasing after the car was what he saw as Sue accelerated down the road. Johannah had her hand pressed against the window and was looking back in his direction with a woebegone face. _Did she know he was watching her? _

_Dude, get it together. You're sitting in the path of Emily's house. Do you _really_ want her to know you're watching her like a freaking stalker?_ Jared's comment once again intruding in his personal thoughts was irritating enough that Embry phased back where he sat and pulled on his shorts. _What could he do for the hours that she would be gone? How had he functioned before he had seen her?_ He felt lost and confused and without purpose as he walked dejectedly towards home.

He went in the back door without thinking and stopped abruptly in the kitchen. He sniffed the air and thought his mind must be playing tricks on him. He could _smell_ her in his house and it seemed to be concentrated right here in the kitchen. He shook his head and went up to flop on his bed. This imprinting stuff was messing up his mind and it had only been two hours.


	20. Chapter 20

**So, this chapter is a little different. It's still 3****rd**** person POV but from Seth's end of things. Hope it's okay… Let me know what you think.**

**Also, Silverdale is actually a big town/tiny city in Washington.** **It's about 74 miles from Forks. I know this because I live up in the area. So, the places they go to shop are real and accurate. **

**New pictures up on Twitter too… Embry's mom, a few of Johannah and Johannah's new bedroom set. www*twitter*com/Sari_Damien**

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><p>"What's wrong?" Seth asked Johannah as they walked into Macy's. She shrugged and gave him a helpless look. He smiled in sympathy. He hadn't imprinted himself, but he had seen it in the other's minds and he knew how much it hurt them to be apart. But it was usually the wolf that was hurt by the separation and not the imprintee… at least not as much. But a thought suddenly struck him.<p>

_Hannie was a wolf._

_Had she imprinted on Embry too? _If so, he wondered if a double imprinting made the separation more painful. They had been gone for four hours now. They had already been to a furniture store, Target, several clothing stores and Cosco. Sue said the mall was the last stop and they were headed home. He felt bad for his little cousin, especially when he saw that her eyes were shiny, like she was trying not to cry. "Hey," he said in his kindest voice. "Tell you what. When we get home, I'll make sure Embry comes and says good night." She gave him a hopeful look with one of her little smiles. She nodded eagerly. "Okay," she breathed out and he felt her relax under the arm he had slung over her shoulders.

"Alright; home goods are to the left," Sue said behind them and Seth turned them in that direction. Leah was texting on her iPhone and Seth had to admit it surprised him how much she liked the phone. For the past few years Leah hadn't really liked much of anything. _Who was she texting anyway?_

"Wow that is so pretty!" Hannie's soft exclamation had them all turn to look at her. They had entered the bed and bath section where all the little fake bedrooms were set up. Hannie was touching the end of a silky bedspread done in shades of magenta and purple. Seth thought it was almost gaudy but Hannie's eyes were rapt as she looked at the perfectly made bed.

"Do you want it?" Leah asked her. She nodded silently and then whipped her head around to stare at Leah. "Really, I can really have it?" Sue and Leah both smiled at her surprised look. Sue took her hand and nodded. "Of course. Your bed will be delivered this week and you need something to put on it. We're here to buy you bedding. Hannie smiled at her and looked back to the shiny quilt. Seth couldn't fathom sleeping under something that bright but wisely held his tongue. He was way outnumbered here, being the only male with three females; two of them being werewolves. So he smiled and nodded gamely when Hannie asked him if he liked it.

The saleslady was friendly, _very_ friendly to him, Seth thought, which was kind of creepy since she looked like she was in her late twenties; as she rung up the bed set, complete with decorative pillows. A dozen towels, a few extra sets of sheets, cotton blankets and six new pillows had been added to the purple quilt set. His mom had paid with a shiny red debit card and he had looked at her oddly but didn't ask any questions. He was a little surprised that she was spending a couple hundred dollars in one place without seeming to blink. But again, it was her business and he stayed quiet. He of course, was made their donkey and was carrying most of the bags as they walked through the mall. After six girl-stores, he had enough and asked for the keys.

"Where are you going?" his mom asked with an uncapped bottle of lotion in her hands. They were standing in Bath and Bodyworks and he was desperate to escape. He lifted his heavily burdened arms. "I'm going to dump these in the car." She smiled at him.

"Oh, yes," she quickly screwed the cap on the lotion bottle and set it down before digging in her purse for the keys. "Meet us in the food court after you take them out." He nodded as he turned towards the exit. "Make sure you lock the car," she hollered after him. He raised a hand in acknowledgement as he made his escape.

_Oh thank god!_ He breathed in the relatively unpolluted air as he walked quickly. His head was on the verge of protesting with a nosebleed at the overwhelming perfume of that god-awful store. It only took him a few minutes to find their car and put the bags in the back. He had to do a little reorganizing as they had already acquired a good amount of things. The new lot was a considerable pile by itself, but his arms weren't even sore from hauling it for thirty minutes. He made sure to lock the car back up before jogging around the mall to the food court entrance.

He breathed in appreciatively, _this was more like it._ Maybe he would get a little snack while he waited for his mom and the girls. Before he could decide where he wanted food from, he saw Hannie bouncing ahead of Leah. They turned into the food court and he made his way quickly to them. His one track mind for food was distracted for a few seconds when he saw Hannie's eyes go wide as she took in all the food vendors. "Oh wow!" She slipped her hand in Leah's. "Can I have French fries?" she asked quietly.

They got Philly cheese-steaks from Charley's, bourbon chicken and rice from the Ragin' Cajun, five large orders of French fries from McDonalds and large milkshakes from Baskin Robbins. There were a lot of strange looks sent their way at the sheer quantity of food on their two tables, but they weren't bothered by it. Seth knew his mom wasn't fazed by things like people staring. She was used to their huge appetites and it wasn't like they were obese. She merely ate her own small portion of food as her three young ones devoured their respective mountains.

"Is there anywhere to get French fries at home?" Hannie asked him and Seth chuckled.

"Oh yeah. You like French fries?" She nodded eagerly.

"They're my favorite. I like McDonalds ones best. They're skinny and salty." Wow, that was the longest string of words he had heard from her so far. He made a mental note to let Embry know she loved French fries. He really should throw him a bone, especially since he had snatched Hannie away an hour after he imprinted on her.

_Ouch,_ he thought. _That must've really hurt._ He got a weird feeling that fate was going to bite him on the ass for that slightly mean move. He could make the excuse that they had to go with his mom, but the truth was that he could have let her stay an extra half hour. They hadn't left for at least forty minutes after they got home. If he was honest, Seth had to admit that there was just the tiniest part of him that took pleasure in having a little bit of power for the first time. He was always the baby of the pack. Well, Collin, Brady and Takoda were below him in the chain, but they didn't count. They were young and freshly phased. But to have a tiny bit of power over one of the senior members of the pack gave him a little thrill.

_He better not think of that phased. He would be such dead meat. _

He shrugged it off as he finished his food. Johannah was eating the rest of her fries slowly, like she was full but couldn't bear to waste them. He supposed that would be horrible for her, wasting food after she had spent years trying to avoid starvation. When the last bits of the food were gone, she looked at him with a pleading look. He had to say, she looked a little green.

"Can you please carry me Seth? I feel sick." He smiled at her and lifted her easily. She put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. She gave a little groan. "It was too much food."

"Well, you should've stopped eating," he told her with a little chuckle. She hit his other shoulder with her tiny balled up fist. "That's mean. You know I can't stop eating."

"I'm just messing with you little sister!" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm older than you!" she said in a soft but insulted voice. Seth laughed with real humor and squeezed her in a little hug.

"I love having you around. You're so much more easygoing than Leah."

"Just because I don't kick your ass like she does, doesn't mean I can't control you as much as she does." He guffawed loudly as she pushed back to glare at him. He heard Leah laugh behind them as they walked towards their car.

_Seriously_, Johannah thought, _his arms were like, as big around as her legs._ He grinned down at her and somehow she wanted to show him that just because she was little didn't mean she was without power of her own. Drawing once again on the long forgotten teachings of her father, she looked at him with a serene look. She concentrated and caught his eyes and he seemed frozen in place.

"Seth, when we are at Emily's house, you _want_ to do everything I ask you. You _know_ that I would never do anything that would hurt you and you _want_ to do everything I say." For extra measure, she smiled and hugged him tightly around the neck as he nodded dumbly and hugged her back. She relaxed, laid her head back on his shoulder and grinned evilly_. _

_That was so bad Johannah Caledonia Ailbe_.

The voice in her head was so clear it was as if her father was standing beside her.

Seth blinked and looked at her, seemingly fine. She glanced over his big, muscled shoulder at Leah. She was watching them with narrowed eyes, as if she knew something was up but didn't quite know what. Johannah smiled and gave a tiny wave. Leah rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>Johannah fell asleep twenty minutes into the drive home. Seth noticed that she did that a lot when she was warm and well fed. He had grabbed one of the new pillows from the back to tuck between her head and the door. They were ten minutes from home when he pulled out his phone. He opened text messaging.<p>

_Dude, u up?_

No answer.

_Hellllooooo, throwing u a major bone here._

Blip… his phone went off.

_Seth? _

_Yeah, where u at bro?_

_Home, why do you care?_

_Victim. Be at my house. 10 min._

_Why?_

_Just be there. Some1 wants to say gdnite._

_Really? Okay! Be there in 5!_

Seth looked at his phone. No more messages came in and he figured Embry was already running towards their house. He didn't say anything for the rest of the drive and he was greatly amused when they pulled up the driveway.

"What the fuck!" Leah said as she leaned forward.

Seth couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up in his throat. Embry stood by their front porch looking anxious and a whole-lot-a nervous. But what struck Seth funny was that he had obviously taken the time to comb his hair and he had dressed in a decent pair of shorts and a clean t-shirt. It was so foreign to see Embry nervous and trying to impress a girl. And a nine year old at that! Well, he supposed that wasn't strictly true. Johannah _was _older than him. She was just trapped in her younger body.

"Oh look! Embry's here. I wonder why he's outside. He should've just gone in if he was waiting to see you." Sue's comments were directed to Seth and Leah and they both laughed.

"What's so funny?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't think Embry's here to see either of us," Leah said with a touch of irony. Sue looked at her and then in the rearview mirror and then back to Leah.

"Did he…?" she left the question hanging. Leah nodded. "Yep." Sue put a hand to her forehead for a second and then gave a resigned sigh. "Well, at least it wasn't Paul." Both her children burst out laughing.

Seth decided they should put poor Embry out of his misery and he jumped out of his door and crossed to his friend. "Hey," he said rubbing the back of his neck. Up close, Embry looked awful. His eyes were dark and frantic and he looked exhausted.

_Jeez! Is this what imprinting did to you? Sapped away your life in just a few hours when you were separated from your imprint? _

He felt totally awful about the enjoyment he had earlier in taking Hannie away from Embry. _He was such a piece of shit friend._

"Um, she's sleeping, but I promised her I'd get you to say good night to her." Embry was almost shaking as he held himself in place. Knowing that he wouldn't last much longer, Seth crossed quickly to Johannah's door. He opened it carefully, catching the pillow before it hit the wet ground. She moved around a little and blinked her eyes open. "Seth?"

He smiled as he unclipped her seatbelt. "Yeah it's me."

She gave a little scowl. "Tired," she complained and he felt the anxious energy from Embry behind him.

"Someone's here to say good night," he said in a light teasing tone. Her eyes widened immediately and her breathing sped up. He stepped aside and the moment Embry stepped into his spot she smiled up at him and a look of peaceful wonder replaced the anxiety on Embry's face.

"Hi," he breathed once again to the small girl who had enslaved him in a moment.

She didn't run this time.


	21. Chapter 21

She was warm and comfortable when the soft pillow she was leaning against suddenly dropped away. Johannah sat up and frowned as she blinked. She focused in on the tall figure standing at the open car door. "Seth?" she mumbled, confused as to what was going on. He reached across her to unbuckle her seatbelt and she scowled at him. She was tired and didn't want to move from her seat. "Tired," she groused and he smiled.

"Someone's here to say goodnight," he said in a teasing voice. She sat up straight and looked at him with wide eyes.

_Someone? Embry? _

_Oh please, please, please be Embry! _

Seth stepped aside and another hulking form took his place. _It was him! _She didn't even realize she was smiling at him when he looked back at her with the most awe filled expression.

"Hi," he said in that same stunned voice he had used at Emily's house. She was so happy to see him after being away for eight and a half hours that it didn't freak her out like last time. She had missed him so much it had literally hurt to be gone for so long. Without thinking about it, Johannah lifted her hand and laid it on his cheek. She heard a gasp but was unable to move or think as an intense psychic vortex sucked her downward.

It was like being caught in a tornado and spun around and around as you tried to grasp something to save yourself with. Instinctively, she reached up and wrapped her arm around his neck as he caught her in his strong arms. She gasped for breath and clung tighter not being able to take her hand from his face. She felt their destinies collide and wrap around each other and she shook with the intensity of it. A faint memory spoke through the mental storm going on and she could almost hear her father's voice as if it were real.

_When you find your destined mate, it will feel too much to bear but you are strong enough to endure the bonding. _

It was complete circuit overload, consuming her mind, soul and spirit but she kept holding on to him. _It would be over soon, right?_ Images of joy and death, war and peace raced through her conscious in a violent storm. The only thing constant was that they were together; as wolves and humans, they were always together and it was enough for her to endure the almost white hot sear of the bonding. It came to a climactic ending as she felt the two parts of their spiritual selves be knitted so tightly, she could almost see the invisible cords that tied them together. And then as violently as it had struck, it melted away, leaving only peace and tremendous love for him.

She let out an involuntary whimper as she felt Embry move away from the car with her in his arms. She felt exhausted, like she couldn't move and she just wanted to sleep forever. _He would take care of her_ she knew. She didn't have to be vigilant or aware of anything for the first time in so many years and she was boneless in his arms. Her absolute trust in him allowed her to fall into deep sleep as he followed her family into their house.

* * *

><p>Embry had exhaled with relief when Seth stepped aside and allowed him to see Hannie. He had seen her scowl at Seth but the moment she saw him her whole face lit up. She smiled at him with shining eyes and he felt all his anxiety and pain just dissipate. He had said hi in an awed whisper and felt time stand still as she raised a hand towards him.<p>

He didn't know what to expect and when she had laid her tiny hand on his face he only felt a split second of joy before he was almost brought to his knees. It was like the palm of her hand was the key to the universe and it showed him everything in the future. He felt the bond of the imprint but it was as if it had been magnified a thousand times. He would never know that as intense as he felt this, Johannah had experienced it five fold. He didn't have to think of being whatever she needed, he already was and she was everything he needed. He felt their souls brought together as they were welded into one. He knew all her hopes and dreams and she had never even spoken to him.

Visions of time to come raced through his conscious, being written in the recesses of his mind. Joy and sorrow, triumphs and defeats, each was shown and through them all she was with him; they were never separated and their union kept them alive. He felt her hand, scorching hot against his face and he held her tighter. The assault to his mind and spirit was so intense he didn't think he could bear it but he felt her and knew he must. At the height of it he could almost see the hands of fate that wove them together and then it was finished. She was more than the center of his universe; he didn't know where she started and he ended. He didn't remember life before her, _how had he survived?_

Just holding her in his arms comforted every hurt he had ever carried. The things that had once pained him held no power above the healing power of her presence.

She was completely relaxed in his arms and he saw her eyes were closed as she lay against him. Her palm had slipped from his cheek but the arm around his neck felt as if it had been welded in place. He felt weak and shaky as he stepped back from the doorway of the SUV. It was such an insignificant place to have gone through the most profound experience of his life. He followed the Clearwater's into their house and realized that they were not looking at him strangely. _Had they not noticed him holding Hannie while the course of time was altered forever?_ It had felt like it had been hours but he realized that it hadn't even consumed thirty seconds of time. He needed to sit before he fell. He felt jittery inside, like he had been shocked with a hundred volts of electricity.

When he passed through the front door Sue turned and looked at him. Her eyes widened in alarm and she jumped forward, grabbing his arm. "Embry!" Leah and Seth jolted at her shout and they looked shocked when they saw his face. Seth grabbed his shoulder and sat him in the recliner. Sue was suddenly hovering around him, feeling for his temperature and pulse and he wondered what the hell he looked like for her to freak out this way.

"Dude, do you feel okay?" Seth asked in an extremely upset voice. Embry merely stared blankly. He couldn't process how he felt physically; he could barely process how he felt emotionally. He felt Seth tug at Johannah trying to lift her from his arms but he couldn't let go. Not that he wanted to, but he could not unlock his arms from around her. She was in a deep sleep against his chest; the feeling of her rhythmic breathing was like a comforting heartbeat calling him towards shared slumber. He couldn't focus on anything being spoken to him and he closed his eyes.

"Call Jacob," he heard before he slipped under. His subconscious was instantly filled with her. He could see her, hear her, feel and smell her and he didn't resist or try to analyze the meaning of anything he experienced. He just allowed it to soak into him, allowed every bit of her become a part of him and he was happy. He had never felt such happiness and he wondered if he was just exaggerating it in his imprint-clouded mind. He didn't think so; he had never seen anything like this in any of the others' minds who had imprinted.

Embry didn't notice the elders and two Alphas gather around him nor did he feel the chair he was sitting in be extended so he could lie in a more comfortable position. The only thing he did register was that the warmth of his imprint's body never left him throughout the night. And when he woke fourteen hours later, she was still with him, curled against his side.

* * *

><p>Tiffany Call's mind was crowded. Embry hadn't come home the night before… <em>big shock<em>. She wasn't so much angry with him being out as she was worried. Some kind of mother's intuition told her there was something major happening in her son's life and she needed to know what it was. He was all she had and she knew that she could not survive losing him. It didn't matter what people thought of her or how they whispered behind her back. As long as she had her son, she could bear it all.

She couldn't count the times she had just wanted to pack up and flee the reservation but she couldn't do that to him. The only family he knew besides her lived here and she wanted him to have a connection with them even if he was unaware what they really were to him.

He never asked about his father and though she found it a little strange, she was also thankful for his silence in a way. She didn't know how to tell him the truth of his paternity. How did she tell her beloved son that when his father found out she was pregnant, he tried to force an abortion on her and when that didn't work, he beat her within an inch of her life to try and induce a miscarriage.

She didn't want the purity of her son to be tainted by the evilness of his father. Maybe his father hadn't ever done anything 'bad' since he beat her. Maybe he had been an upstanding member of society and was loved by his friends and family, but Tiffany would never think of him as anything other than a black hearted monster. Sometimes in her dreams she could feel the phantom pain of the beating he had inflicted on her and she mourned the innocent loving girl she had once been who had died that night on a dirty motel floor.

Her parents had disowned her, forcing her out on her own and out of desperation, she had fled to the La Push reservation. She didn't tell the elders what had been done to her, only that her child's father was a Quileute. Quil Ateara III was the only person who knew who Embry's father was. The council had decided that he would be told alone and he would confirm the validity of her claim. He had assured the elders that Embry's father was indeed one of the tribe and the matter was left at that. Tiffany knew that there was probably a few of the elders who just didn't want to know who had gotten her pregnant and then abandoned her. They didn't want to feel responsible if it was one of their family members.

Though she had only been eighteen years old, she was no one's fool. While his beating had left no doubt in her mind that he wanted nothing to do with her unborn child, she had made Embry's father sign all his parental rights over to her. He had only protested and very briefly because it was a mere 'stupid woman' trying to bend him to do her will. Her cousin Axel, himself the black sheep of his family, had helped to 'convince him' that it was in his best interest to sign the papers.

Those papers were the only thing that made Tiffany feel safe enough to stay in La Push all these years. No matter how highly he was thought of, there was no judge who would overturn the parental rights decree he had willingly signed. She had watched him periodically over the years, sickened at how people thought of him, wondering how he managed to keep such a demonic personality hidden from everyone but her.

But there was something telling her now that it was time… time for her to tell her son the whole truth. Her heart ached as she wished so badly she had something good to give him; a hero father who had died in the line of duty or even just a good man with whom a relationship didn't work out. But no, she had to tell him that his father had known where he was his entire life; that he had seen him time after time, knowing he was his own son and deliberately ignored him. She had to tell her son that his father had done this because she had refused to kill his tiny little being before he even had the chance to live. How could she tell someone as sweet and loving as Embry that that was his legacy from his father? He of all people did not deserve that and she cried as she sat in her window seat as the sun rose high in the sky and she worried for her son.

_Where was he?_ She needed to see him, assure herself that he was okay. She trembled in the deepest part of her as the minutes ticked by into hours and she wondered how she would have the courage to tell him the truth.


	22. Chapter 22

**I was going to tell what happened while Embry and Johannah were in their weird deep sleep but it felt too contrived and it would have taken away from the upcoming chapter when her father explains why their reaction to each other is so different from the other wolves. I felt like Tiffany needed a little time leading up to her big reveal so here goes… Hope you like! Please review if you have a sec.**

* * *

><p>Tiffany had switched shifts with one of her fellow nurses at the hospital so she could wait and see her son when he came home. She had cleaned their small house from top to bottom and was in the kitchen cooking dinner so he would have something to eat while she was at work. She heard the front door open and then his voice say something just low enough that she couldn't make out the words.<p>

She hurried down the short hallway to the front door and smiled in relief when she saw his massive form. _Gosh, she couldn't believe how big he had grown up to be!_ He was half turned backward but she didn't realize at first what he was looking at. She still had four hours before she needed to go into work so that left her plenty of time to sit him down and tell him the truth. But when he turned and looked at her, all thoughts of telling him the horrible truth about his father flew out of her mind.

He was smiling, his eyes bright and happy with a look she had never seen before; and standing next to him with one small hand in his, was Hannie.

"Hey mom!" Embry said and grinned happily down at the small girl. "Hannah, this is my mom. Mom this is Hannah." Okay, somehow the way he introduced them to each other was almost like he was introducing her to his girlfriend. But that couldn't be, _right?_

Hannie -or Hannah as he had called her- looked like she was barely nine years old. She smiled up at Tiffany with her mesmerizing green eyes and Tiffany felt herself sucked under the little girl's spell once again.

"Hi, Mrs. Call," she said in a sweet voice and Tiffany just smiled back at her. "Hello Hannah."

Embry looked apologetic for a minute. "Sorry I didn't call you last night. I crashed at Seth's. I was beat and fell asleep in their living room." Her heart stuttered when he said he had stayed at the Clearwater house but she masked the quick spear of fear she felt with a nod.

"It's okay," she said, feeling even more inclined to be nice to him with Hannah in the room; not that it was conscious. It was just instinctive. "Are you hungry?" She asked Embry and he shrugged. "Not starving but I could always eat something."

She smiled at him affectionately. _Of course he could, he was always hungry._ She opened the fridge to see what was available and pulled out a few items before looking at him with a sigh. "It's a good thing I have tomorrow off. You've just about wiped the pantry and fridge clean. I'll have to go grocery shopping." She had been quickly assembling a tray of deluxe nachos for him and slid it under the broiler before rinsing off her hands. When she was drying them she looked to where he sat on a kitchen stool. Hannah sat on the stool next to him almost pressed against his side. Though she supposed that would look suspicious to some people, it somehow read completely innocent.

"You're going grocery shopping?" Hannah asked her with wide eyes. Tiffany nodded. "There's no hope of keeping any kind of food in this house. I go at least twice a week." The girl smiled like it was Christmas morning.

"Can I go with you?" That stopped Tiffany for a moment but then she smiled. There was something about the girl that told her she was extremely important to Embry. If she was important to her son then she would make an effort to find out why.

"Sure, I mean we would have to ask your mother but I don't mind."

Hannah smiled sadly. "My mom's dead. I live with my cousin and she won't mind. You're Embry's mom," she finished as if the simple fact that she was Embry's mother was enough for anyone.

"Why don't you ask your cousin just in case," Tiffany insisted and Embry nodded. "I will, don't worry about it."

As the two young people ate the food she prepared them she thought of how nice it was to have a third person in the house; even if said person was only nine years old. Hannah conversed with them as if she had an understanding of life far outreaching her years. She was sweet and pretty, unfailingly polite and something about her reminded Tiffany of the one true friend she had once had seventeen years before.

When their food was consumed Hannah helped her clean up the dishes and finish making the dinner she had been working on when they had come in. "I love to cook. I used to cook with my mom all the time," she told Tiffany with a wistful smile. "Maybe I can cook with you sometimes." Tiffany smiled down at her.

"Sure, any time you'd like." Embry looked extraordinarily pleased that she was getting along with his little friend and she felt good when she realized that she was making him happy.

Hannah helped her fold the clean laundry she had done while waiting for Embry to come home. She kept sniffing the clean garments. "It smells so nice," she said when Tiffany looked at her curiously.

"Oh, I use lavender downy in my clothes and the bedding. I make sure I wash Embry's clothes separately; I'm sure he wouldn't want to smell like flowers around all his friends." Hannah giggled and her eyes twinkled and Tiffany got a really good vibe from her. She had a feeling that Hannah had been the big event happening in her son's life and she was so relieved and happy that it wasn't something bad.

* * *

><p>It was eleven thirty in the next morning and for once it was bright and sunny out. Tiffany had her extensive shopping list in hand as she met her son and Hannah by her car.<p>

"All set to go," Embry told his mother.

Hannah was almost bouncing from excitement. "She said it was fine for me to go with you!" Tiffany smiled at her contagious happiness. "Okay then, let's get going."

Hannah looked at Embry suddenly. She looked a little bit worried until he crouched down eye level to her. "You'll be okay until you see me again. Nothing will happen and you will not be worried about me." She spoke in a dreamy tone as she looked into his eyes and it made Tiffany pause. There was something off in the way she spoke and how her son just smiled back with a dazed look on his face. But before she could explore it in her mind, Hannah was climbing in the car with her.

The trip to the supermarket was made with casual conversation. Tiffany sensed that food was a big deal to Hannah so she asked her what some of her favorite foods were.

"I don't know. Anything that isn't moldy or dirty is good." She stared at the girl for a second too long and whipped her head to look back to the road when her right tire went over the friction line.

"Well I would hope that no one would feed you something moldy or dirty." Her voice was outraged and Hannah looked at her with an expression of acceptance.

"Sometimes there is nothing else," she said and Tiffany was even more stumped. _How poor was her family?_ Hannah seemed to understand what she was thinking and smiled reassuringly. "Oh don't worry, my relatives take very good care of me and my dad is sending money to feed me now." _Well, that was a relief. _

They pulled into the parking lot of the Thriftway. Hannah had a look on her face like they had just entered the national museum. "Oh, wow! I _love_ these kinds of stores." Tiffany grabbed a large cart and Hannah got one of the tiny two basket carts, smiling at Tiffany.

"My dad sends gift cards so I can get what I need. I want to get downy like yours and I need some Oreos and Orangina… it's my favorite drink." Tiffany just smiled at her earnest face.

She found that shopping wasn't a chore with Hannah. Her unabashed delight in everything she saw was invigorating. "Look! They have avocados! I need some. My mom used to make me smoothies with them. But if I'm going to make smoothies I need mangos, bananas and coconut milk." The mangos and bananas were right there in the produce section, but it was a bit of a hunt to find the coconut milk. While they searched, Tiffany ticked off things from her list as she added them to her cart and Hannah just put anything that tickled her fancy in her basket. It started to worry Tiffany and she looked at the young girl.

"Honey," Hannah looked at her with wide eyes as she held two bags of Pepperidge Farm Milanos in her hands. "Um, you've got quite the load there. Are you sure you need all that?" Hannah looked at her basket and then to Tiffany. "I can eat all of it," she said with the same certainty Embry approached the huge portions he ate.

"I know, but…" she didn't know how to approach financial matters with a nine year old. Understanding dawned in the little girl's eyes. "Oh, my gift card has tons of money." _What was tons of money to her?_ But Tiffany let it go and nodded. "Okay."

They made it up to the register in another forty minutes. Hannah went ahead and unloaded her cart. It took up the entire belt. When the cashier told her the total, she wrinkled her little nose up at him. "Um, I have this," she said holding up a white and gold card, "but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to use it." He looked at her blankly and Tiffany chuckled. She stepped up and showed Hannah how to swipe the card. It asked for the PIN.

"Oh, it's my mom's name," Hannah said, her eyes lighting up and she entered four numbers. It cleared and the bag boy put her groceries in the cart. "Mrs. Call," Hannah whispered tugging on her hand. Tiffany looked down. "Pay with this," she whispered, holding out the white debit card. Tiffany frowned.

"I can't use your money," she said back. Hannah shook her head.

"But I want to buy the food for Embry. My dad put like four thousand dollars and he said he will send another one. Please buy it for Embry." Her eyes were shining, her slow blink working its magic and Tiffany relented. _Four thousand dollars!_

They filled the back of her car with groceries, took them back to the Call home and Hannah helped her put everything away. When they were finished Tiffany smiled at her. "What time do you need to be home?" Hannah shrugged.

"Embry said he'll take me home later but if you want me to go I can." Tiffany smiled and quickly shook her head.

"No, no, no… I just wanted to make sure you made it home when you're supposed to."

Hannah got a bag of Cheetos and a glass of Orangina and looked at Tiffany. "Can I watch TV?"

"Sure," Tiffany turned on the TV and handed the remote to Hannah who had settled on the couch.

"Where do they play Phineas and Ferb?" the small girl asked and Tiffany found the show in On Demand. Good cable was one thing she paid for. As a person with few friends and a teenage son, she found having a good selection of things to watch was helpful. She liked the On Demand feature as she could catch up on the shows she missed when she was on duty. As a nurse at the Forks hospital, her work hours fluctuated frequently.

She left Hannah on the couch after showing her how to work the remote and went to do a few things at her computer. An hour and a half later, she went to get a drink and check on the girl. She smiled when she walked into the living room. Hannah was lying on her back sound asleep with orange fingertips and a smudge of Cheeto dust on her cheek. Retrieving a wet cloth from the kitchen, she wiped it off and cleaned her hands. She was as warm as Embry was these days, and it made her wonder what was wrong with the two of them that made them both well over 100 degrees. She shrugged it off though as she tucked a pillow under the small dark head and brushed her hand over her messy hair. She looked at the smooth pretty face and sighed. She would have loved to have had a daughter. Sometimes she had the stray thought that at only thirty six years old she could still have another child. But the reality was there was no one on the reservation that was husband material and the only man she ever thought of had probably forgotten her a long time ago. She knew most people thought of her as loose because she was single and from the Makah reservation. Everyone who knew anything about reservation law knew that she was only able to live there because her son's father was Quileute. She sighed now, pushing those thoughts out of her mind. It wouldn't do to get depressed right now. She had a nice day today, spending time with Hannah.

She worked on her laptop for another forty five minutes before she heard Hannah moving around. She appeared in the small sunroom doorway rubbing at her sleepy eyes. "I need to use the bathroom." Tiffany showed her where it was and left her alone. She thought of calling Embry and then remembered that she had left her phone at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.

"Hannah, I need to go to the hospital to pick something up."

The small bathroom door opened and she came out wiping her wet hands on her jeans. "Oh, okay. I can go home."

"You could come with me if you like."

"Sure."

They drove up to the hospital and Tiffany noticed that as nice as it had been when they had gone shopping, it was now overcast. Music played through the speakers and Hannah sighed. "I love music."

Her phone was at the nurse's station where she had inadvertently left it as she had headed home at three in the morning. Deena, one of the nurses on shift was a friend so Tiffany chatted with her for a few minutes before heading back out of the hospital. She and Hannah had almost made it to the exit when a she saw an unexpected person in the hallway.

"Hello Nurse Call," Carlisle Cullen said and then smiled kindly at the small girl frozen next to Tiffany. "Hannie; how nice to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Dr. Cullen!" Tiffany said in surprise. He had moved away almost a year ago and she was honestly shocked to see him again. She wondered what he was doing back in Forks.

"It's so nice to see you again Tiffany," he had always been really kind to her. "How is your son?"

"Good, he's doing pretty well," she answered and saw something in the Doctor's golden eyes that made her suddenly certain that he knew a lot more about Embry than just the few casual things he had learned of him through her. He nodded and motioned then past him. "I won't keep you."

Hannah was rooted to the spot, her body trembling as she seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible. Tiffany guided her by the shoulders to continue out the doors and the girl reluctantly moved with her. She didn't say a word, looking at the ground the whole time and Tiffany felt worried.

"Hannah, are you okay?" Tiffany asked quietly. Hannah's jaw trembled as her whole body shook. She looked scared to death; almost like she was going to pass out. They were walking across the parking lot towards the car when a new voice called out in greeting.

"Hello, Mrs. Call." Carlisle Cullen's beautiful wife was leaning against a sleek black Mercedes. Tiffany stopped and smiled politely back at the ridiculously pretty woman.

"Hello Mrs. Cullen."

Hannah let out a stifled cry, shaking even harder as she pressed against Tiffany. Esme Cullen looked immediately concerned. "Oh, I should let you go." The sound of her voice seemed to cause Hannah to panic more as she actually started sobbing. Tiffany was stunned at how she was reacting and merely nodded to Esme before hurrying Hannah to the car. She unlocked it and the shaking girl crawled into the back seat. Tiffany didn't know what on earth was wrong with her. She had her eyes squeezed shut as she cried in little moans.

"Stop," Hannah suddenly gasped and Tiffany looked into the rearview mirror. It looked like she was having a seizure and Tiffany skidded to a stop a mile from the reservation line. She turned around in the driver's seat, planning on jumping into the back between the two front seats when with a little scream, Hannah's whole body exploded! Tiffany fell back against the steering wheel with a hand over her heart.

_Oh my god! Oh my god!_

No, she wasn't seeing this! _This wasn't real!_ No, no, no!

_What the hell!_

There was a white dog shaking on her back seat surrounded by torn scraps of fabric that were the same color as the clothes Hannah had been wearing.

_She did not just see a little girl _'poof'_ into a dog! _

She put her fingers to her lips when a small whimper escaped her and green eyes the same color as Hannah's opened to look at her.

_Oh my god!_ Her hand scrabbled around the console searching for her phone as her eyes never left the white dog. Wait… it looked more like a wolf.

_What the Fuck! _

Her hand landed on her cell phone and she picked it up. With shaking hands she pressed her son's number and waited while it rang. It went to voicemail after five rings and she left a message.

"Embry! You call me back right now! Oh my god!" she couldn't stop the shaky exclamation when the wolf/dog whimpered at Embry's name. "Do you hear me?"

She hung up and called him over and over. He didn't answer. She left another voicemail.

"Embry Call. You answer your phone, RIGHT NOW!"


	23. Chapter 23

Meanwhile…. Out on patrol with Jake…

Embry was running a special tracking mission with Jake. There had been a scent of vampire picked up a good ways from Forks and the Rez, but they were being extra careful. Their area was still a tourist destination for vampires who wanted to see the place where the Volturi had confronted the Cullen's and hopefully catch a glimpse of the werewolves who were not children of the moon. All of the sudden, his mind was attacked with panicked Johannah.

"Help me!" She was absolutely hysterical and Embry skidded to a stop when he heard her voice clear as day in his wolf mind. "They're here! They killed mama! Help us!"

His phone started vibrating against his leg where he had tied his shorts. He had never understood until Hannah, why the other imprinted guys carried their cell phones. He did now.

He saw his mother's panicked face suddenly holding her phone to her ear. "Embry! You call me back right now! Oh my god!"

_What the hell was going on?_ He started freaking out as Johannah cried in his mind, begging him to save her.

He saw his mother dial her phone over and over and then saw and heard her speak again. Her voice was rising in distress and he just stared in his mind's eye at the scene unfolding before him.

"I swear Embry, if you don't answer your phone I will kick your ass, I don't care how much bigger you are than me! You come home right now, do you hear me?"

_What the hell was going on!_

"_Jake! Jake! Can you see this? I've gotta go!"_

Jake answered in his mind. _"I'm heading back too, I'm further out. Go!"_

Embry turned back towards the reservation, still sharing Hannah's mind and he saw his mother square her shoulders as she looked directly in his eyes… or that's what it felt like. Her eyes were still freaked out but he could tell she was trying, really trying to calm herself. She turned in the driver's seat suddenly and put the car in gear, flooring it as she raced to their house. He was running flat out, but he was almost a hundred and twenty miles out where they had been following the scent of the rogue vampires.

Tiffany pulled into the driveway and continued over their back lawn to hide the car behind the house. She got out of the seat and he suddenly saw her in the now open back door. She was leaning over a little bit, being careful but extending a hand with a shaky smile. Her eyes betrayed her freaked out state though but he could see she was trying.

"Come on, come inside with me," she said gently. "I'll take care of you." Embry could feel Hannah moving slowly out of the car and up the back stairs into the house. She kept low to the ground, not wanting to scare his mom anymore. His mother unlocked the door and stood to the side so that Hannah could crawl inside. She lay on the kitchen floor shaking and he felt to need to be closer to her as he felt her crying.

"Oh my god; you're crying," his mom said and she knelt hesitantly next to Hannah. She held out her hand and touched her furry head. She let out a breath of awe and relief when Hannah did nothing. Embry could feel her hand on his head through his mind connection and he watched as she smiled sadly.

"Don't be afraid. You're safe here with me. Embry will come back and we'll take care of you." She rubbed her hand over Hannah's head and with a shiver Embry felt his connection disappear. He panicked, racing faster towards the reservation. He was almost collapsed when he thundered into the boundary of the Rez and raced towards the house.

Embry tore inside expecting his mom to be in the kitchen or living room on the verge of panic, but she wasn't pacing like he expected. She wasn't even there. He walked down the short hallway to her bedroom. The door was opened a little and he peeked into to see if she was there. She was and his jaw dropped when he saw her.

She sat cross-legged at the head of her bed but that wasn't what shocked him. Johannah was in her lap, asleep against her chest and she was hugging her close.

"Mom?" He whispered and her head lifted to look at him. Her eyes were wild. She was obviously still freaked out, but she brought her finger to her lips and silently shushed him. With care born of her years as a mother and a nurse, she eased Hannah's body off of her and turned her so that she was lying with her head on a pillow. She tiptoed out of the room and pushed him forcefully down the hall into the kitchen.

"Embry Call. Do not lie to me, do not try and give me some lame excuse. When I ask you this next question, you tell me the exact truth." He looked at her with eyes wide. She was breathing heavy and looked on the verge of tears. "Why did Hannah _burst_ into a _dog_ on the backseat of my car?" It was said in almost a hesitant way like she knew how ridiculous it sounded but had to ask it anyway.

"Um," What was he supposed to say to her? _Where was Jake?_

"I knew it. You're not even surprised!" He felt trapped. He couldn't lie outright to his mother, but he didn't really know how to explain it to her. "Who is she Embry? Hannah _what_; what's her last name? I know you both purposefully made sure you didn't say who her cousin was. So who is she?"

He grimaced but answered her honestly. "She's Johannah Bailey; Kaiya Clearwater's daughter." Tiffany swayed and he leapt forward to catch her arm and sit her in a chair.

"Breathe mom," he instructed and she obeyed but it was rapid, verging on hyperventilation.

"That's not possible, she died. Her mother died and she's not nine years old. Johannah is sixteen!" He squatted in front of her and took his mother's face between his hands.

"Mom, you need to calm down and breathe slowly. She really is Kaiya's daughter. She was missing for eight years, but she found her way back to La Push and she is living with Sue and Leah. I need you to breathe okay?" Her eyes were almost circling in her panic and he hoped to hell that Jake was almost here. All the sudden he heard the pounding of paws and breathed a sigh of relief. _Reinforcements._

Jake knocked on the back door and opened it before anyone answered. "Seth is getting his mom and Billy. Sam's almost here," he said without preamble. Tiffany whipped her head up to look at Jake.

"What are you doing here?" She asked and Jacob smiled ruefully at her.

"Hey Mrs. Call."

She glared at him. "That was not an answer to my question young man." If the situation hadn't been so grave, both young men would have laughed at her tone of voice. Instead he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sighed.

"Can you tell us what happened and then we will explain everything; I promise." She considered him and then pursed her lips, nodding curtly. Both boys were quiet, giving her the time she needed to clear her mind. Then she started talking.

"We went grocery shopping. We had a really nice time; she was so excited over the littlest things. I asked her what her favorite foods were and she said anything as long as it wasn't moldy or dirty. I thought that was really weird but she was serious so I let it go. After we got home, she helped me put everything away. I asked her what time she had to go home and she said Embry was going to take her when he got back unless I wanted her to leave. I said I didn't mind her staying, I just wanted to make sure she didn't get into trouble."

"She asked if she could watch TV, so I put on Phineas and Ferb; it's what she wanted to watch. I went to do a few things on the computer and I came out to check on her a little while later. She was passed out on the couch with Cheeto dust on her face." Tiffany smiled absently. "She looked so sweet so I wiped her face and hands and let her sleep."

"When she woke up I remembered that I had left my phone at the hospital, so I asked her if she'd like to go with me to get it or if she'd rather go home, I could drop her off on the way. She said she wanted to go with me so we went. Everything was fine, I got my phone and talked with Deena – one of my co-workers – for a minute and then we were leaving. Dr. Cullen was there and said hi to me. He's always been really nice. I was surprised to see him, but I said hello. He said hello to Hannah and she just froze next to me. He was just being friendly. I guess he must have been in town and stopped to say hello. Maybe he was consulting on a case… I don't know. Whatever," she waved her hand in front of her face.

"We left the hospital and she was shaking really badly. I could tell she was freaked out about something but she just kept walking, almost running towards the car. We were only a little ways from it when Dr. Cullen's wife said hello to me. She was leaning against his car, I guess waiting for him. Anyway, I had seen her before and so I said hi back. Hannah let out this little weird cry like a yelp. Esme seemed to realize that she was really upset; I mean you could plainly see it. She was shaking so hard and when Esme said she could see we needed to go, Hannah just started sobbing. She was totally freaking out and when I unlocked the car she crawled in that back seat, laying down like she was trying to hide. I didn't know what the hell was wrong but I figured I needed to get her home as fast as possible."

"Right before we reached the reservation, she said stop and I looked in the mirror. It looked like she was having a grand mal seizure and I pulled over. I turned around to help her when she just… _exploded!_" Tiffany ran a shaky hand through her hair.

"I thought I was hallucinating. I did _not_ see a child just poof into a dog in my car. But she was laying there shaking and when she opened her eyes they were the same green. I called you," she said, addressing her son, "like fifty times because I was freaking out so bad."

"I forced myself to calm down and drove home." She obviously had no idea Embry had already seen this in his head. "I pulled around the back of the house over the lawn. I mean, I didn't think I should let anyone see her. I got her into the house; she was just lying on the floor and I knew she was scared. Then I saw her crying. Dogs don't cry, people do and I knew that I hadn't imagined it. I told her it would be okay and when I told her Embry would be home soon she seemed to relax and then she just like, melted onto the floor. And then she was a person again." She squeezed her eyes tight and shook her head as a shudder rocked her.

"My instinct was to just freak out, but she was so scared, just a little girl and she was _so_ scared. I carried her into my room and found something to put on her. She was crying and hugging herself and as freaked out as I was… am, I had to do something. So I sat down and held her and in a few minutes she was sound asleep against me." She sighed, a shaky breath that said she was not as okay as her calm recitation of the events made her sound. She took a few seconds and then looked at Jacob and Embry.

"I want to know why neither one of you look even remotely surprised about this."

There was the sound of a vehicle and then doors slamming before someone headed towards the house. Jake moved to the front door quickly, unlocking it to allow the new arrivals entrance. He went outside and helped his dad into his wheelchair before pushing him up to the front door. He easily lifted his father, wheelchair and all, over the porch and into the house.

As he was doing this, Sam emerged from the tree line and made his way over to them, pulling a t-shirt over his head. When they went into the kitchen, Tiffany stiffened.

"Would someone like to tell me why my house is being filled up with equal parts tribal elders and steroid boys?" she said sweetly and Embry cringed. Now she was getting mad.

"Um, mom, this is kind of complicated," he said gently. She looked at him with a little smile that told him she was about to say something inflammatory.

"So complicated that Sam Uley needed to be here to explain it?" _Uh oh_… everyone froze. _Was Sam his brother?_ From the way she had said that, it sure as hell sounded like she had a case against the name Uley.

"Tiffany," Sue said gently and the younger woman turned a white hot gaze on her.

"What?" Well that was sharp. Embry just grimaced but knew his mother was completely overwhelmed. Billy wheeled himself closer to her.

"Tiffany; have you ever heard any of the Quileute legends?" She looked at him incredulously.

"What?" This time her voice was totally confused.

He smiled kindly. "If you will listen, we will explain."

And so he did. He recited the tales of the Quileute, explaining how a few years ago the legends came to life when the first of the boys phased. He explained that their purpose was to protect their people and what they did was a vitally important thing to the tribe. When he said that Embry had been the fourth to phase her jaw dropped as her gaze was torn from Billy's face for the first time. She turned to stare at her son. His face confirmed that it was true and she looked down at the table blankly for a second as her chest rose and fell with her heaving breaths. She seemed to be gathering her wits about her and then she looked back up at him with blazing eyes.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: This is kind of a longer chapter than usual because it was some pretty heavy content and there wasn't really a place I could stop. Hope you enjoy and PLEASE let me know what you think! :)**

**ALSO... A bunch of new pictures up for the last 2 chapters on my Twitter. /Sari_Damien**

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><p>"Embry, outside now!" He cringed but obeyed. See there were times in life when the tone of voice from your mother was enough to make you do anything. At that point, he wasn't sure an Alpha-order could have stopped him from doing as his mother said. <em>'Cause yeah, she was his original Alpha-bitch. No disrespect.<em>

He followed her out onto the porch and was a little confused when she kept walking further from the house. He dutifully followed though and stopped when she whirled around.

"Embry Call. You look into my eyes and tell me that every single word that was just spoken to me is the absolute truth." He nodded mutely. She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah… yes, yes it's all true!" She bit her lip and he knew she was trying hard not to cry. "Aww, mom; please don't cry." She shook her head and waved a hand in front of her face.

"So you haven't joined a gang or been doing drugs or anything else illegal?" He shook his head with a chagrined expression. _Damn, _she really _had_ been worried about that. "And you've been spending your time protecting the reservation? All those nights you were gone because you were out running all night!"

He nodded and she burst into tears and hugged him. If he had been a regular person, it may have been tight to the point of bruising but he was made of sterner stuff.

"I thought I had failed and you were going to end up dead or in prison. But you're not." She cried harder. "I just tried to make sure you grew up better than him. But you're better than I even hoped." She was hardly making any sense but Embry hugged his mother back and just let her cry. Hell, she didn't do it all that often, at least not when she thought anyone would see or hear her.

_Him? Was she talking about his father?_

When she had calmed down she pulled back to look at him. "So you're a dog?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Uh, wolf."

She rolled her eyes, "still a canine." She shivered. "Don't take it personally honey, but I think it's going to take me a little while to accept that my son is part dog." He shrugged philosophically.

"Hey, I thought you would scream bloody murder and call the police if I ever showed you what I was. You're doing pretty good considering how you first found out with Hannah."

She frowned. "So, this is a Quileute thing, passed down through blood lines?" He nodded and she considered him. "How come you've never asked about your father, especially since all of this happened?"

"Uh, well," he stammered.

"Wait, did they tell you who he is?" She turned blazing eyes back towards her house and then marched with murderous intent towards it. She crashed open the back door and glared at the four people in her kitchen.

"Did you tell him?" She asked in a silky voice. No one looked very surprised… again. _Had they heard what she and Embry had been talking about?_ "Did one of the council members tell my son - without even talking to me first, who his father is?"

"Mom, no one told me anything, well pretty much. Since it's a bloodline thing, they said it had to be Quil, Sam or Jake's dad." Her eyes bulged and she gaped at him before turning to stare at Billy.

"You told him this?" Her jaw was literally dropped.

"No," Sam said. "Embry's paternity hasn't been discussed outside the pack."

Tiffany turned hurt eyes towards her son. Her jaw trembled and she tried hard to keep her voice even. "Please tell me you didn't believe that I would have ever had an affair with a married man." He winced and she almost moaned. _He did! He thought the same about her as everyone else did!_ Refusing to let any of them see how hurt she was, she squared her shoulders and gathered an iron resolve.

"I was going to sit you down and try to talk to you about it in the nicest way possible," she told Embry gently. "I decided the other night that you had the right to know. I guess since all of them," she indicated the others present with a sweep of her hand, "have made themselves privy to the important matters of your life, what's one more?"

She took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes. "At no time in my life; past, present or future, have I or will I EVER sleep with another woman's husband. Billy Black, Joshua Uley and Quil Ateara have never even been possibilities as your father."

She sat down in a chair, feeling suddenly shaky. _God, this was hard._

"When I was eighteen I fell hard and fast for a handsome Quileute visiting the Reservation. I thought he loved me, at least he said he did and I was young and naïve enough to believe everything he said. Well, five months down the road and I ended up pregnant; the whole stupid and naïve thing again. My parents were furious, my dad screamed at me for thirty minutes while my mom just cried. They said I had a week to get the baby's father to marry me or I was no longer part of the family."

"I went to him, told him that I was pregnant and he refused to accept it. He said I had one choice… abortion." The word stuck in her throat. Even to this day the thought of someone ripping her unborn child from her womb was enough to make her want to scream. "I told him there was no way. I wouldn't even consider it." She saw Jake grab Embry's arm as he swayed but she couldn't break out of the trance she had put herself in to be able to complete the story. If she acknowledged her son's pain she would break down and never be able to finish.

"I went home, totally freaked out and kept my dad pacified for a few days, saying he was talking to his parents about it. Then he called me. Said he wanted to meet me to discuss things; that maybe he had been a little hasty. Stupid me, I believed him. I met him at the motel he said he was staying in. He was nice for a few minutes, telling me that he was just too young to worry about having a kid and he didn't really love me enough to marry me, that it wouldn't be fair to any of us to get married only to hate each other and eventually get a divorce. Then he tried to convince me again that I should get an abortion. I said, "Fuck you" to him and went to leave."

She squeezed her eyes shut and Embry felt sick to his stomach. "He grabbed my arm and threw me across the room. I couldn't move for a second I was so stunned and then he was just on top of me. He was screaming at me, his face was all red, telling me that I wasn't going to ruin his life with a Makah bastard. He started punching me in the stomach and chest and I tried to protect myself. Every time I tried to cover my stomach he would punch me and when I was gasping he would force my knees down and kick me in the stomach. He said if I wasn't going to go willingly to a clinic than he was going to give me an abortion right there on the floor. I thought I was going to die. I couldn't even make a sound or breathe it hurt so bad. He wasn't going to stop; I knew it and I told you I was sorry - sorry I hadn't even been able to protect you until you were born."

"Then this guy started beating on the door. I guess I did scream some and _he_ had been yelling at me the whole time and this guy had heard it. The man kicked in the door and threw him off of me. When he bent down to make sure I was alive, your father ran. I recognized the guy who had rescued me. He was one of my Cousin Axel's biker buddies. He said he was going to get me to a hospital but I told him no. So he called my cousin and they took me to Axel's girlfriend Sheila's house. She was a nurse and she was used to fixing up the bikers, she could even stitch. It took three weeks for me to get better. She made me stay in bed, told me it was the only way to save the baby. And it did. Somehow you lived and when she took me for an ultrasound at the hospital and I saw that you were alive, I had something to live for."

"My dad had kicked me out by then and I couldn't really live with Axel. He was always a borderline criminal and his friends were definitely dangerous, but he did one big favor for me. He got a lawyer he knew to draw up papers relinquishing parental rights and convinced your father to sign them. Sooty… the guy who beat down the motel door, gave me twelve thousand dollars, said to use it for the baby. I didn't ask where he got it from; I couldn't afford to. And then I came to La Push to beg for a place to live. "

"I told Old Quil who your father was; he said no one else would know unless it was a need." She looked up at the others who were staring at her horror stricken. Her stomach lurched when she saw Embry's face. "I guess he never told huh?"

"No, the council's word was given. He has never told another soul," Billy said in the silence. Tiffany nodded. "Perhaps it would be better kept that way." She didn't want to say it now and hurt anyone.

"Who?" Embry croaked and then swallowed, licking his lips as he looked at her with dread. "Who is he?" His mother met his eyes and hers filled with tears.

"Oh Embry," her voice was full of pain and she closed her eyes as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Tell me who he is." He said and his voice hardened. "And then I'm going to kill him."

"No!" Tiffany yelped as she stared at him. "Don't you ruin your life because of him, Embry Call!"

He gritted his teeth and stared back at her. _The bastard who had fathered him had tried to kill his mom! He sure as hell was going to do something to repay him in kind._

"Who is he?" he said again and Tiffany sighed in defeat.

"Lucas."

You could have dropped a live grenade in the center of the room and no one would have moved. Every person in the room was frozen in shock as they tried to process that one word.

"Lucas?" Jake finally asked. "Like Lucas Uley?"

She studied her hands as she nodded.

"Oh my god!" Sue moaned as she fell back in her chair. Tiffany squeezed her eyes shut. _See, hurting people._

"Why did you not tell us?" Sue asked and she shrugged without looking up.

"People had already formed the opinion that I was a slut. Would you have believed me back then if I had told you the same story I just did? Plus I was still recovering from the beating. Since I didn't go to the hospital some things didn't heal right and I was in a lot of pain for over a year. I was afraid for a while that if I angered him, he might come after me again. Then he left for college and was the golden boy of La Push; the one who made it in life. If I had accused him of being Embry's father or anything else, I would have made things so much harder on myself."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Mom," Embry said fiercely. "I'm glad you never told me, I don't want anything to do with him!"

Tiffany looked crushed as she stared at her son in tears. She reached out and squeezed his hot hands in her own. "It shouldn't have been this way," she whispered, "he should have been around for you."

Embry started to tremble as he thought of that man anywhere near him. Jake and Sam both took a step forward as his mom's eyes widened in alarm.

"I've gotta go," Embry said as he felt his body shake harder. He had never been so angry and confused and freaked out since he had first phased. He stormed out of the kitchen door, not even pausing for an instant as he dove off the porch, phasing mid air.

Here he had been thinking his father might have been a decent man. Hell he had even hoped for a while that Billy was his dad. He and Jake had always been best friends so turning out to be brothers would've been the best thing ever. He wouldn't have minded Quil being his brother either but he knew it would hurt Quil's mom so he had always hoped it wasn't. Sam's dad was kind of a loser but at least Sam was decent. But to find out that his father was Lucas Uley was sending him into a tailspin.

If it was just that – that his dad was Lucas Uley; he would be fine with it. He probably wouldn't want anything to do with him after being ignored his whole life but still he wouldn't want to _kill_ the guy. But he was enraged now as he ran flat out, getting angrier as he just booked it aimlessly. Even if he didn't want to be involved in his life, his father could have still helped his mother out; especially when he was young. Embry remembered times when his mother was trying to finish her school, when there had hardly been any food. He remembered his mother skipping dinner for nights on end so he would have something to eat. _That fucker couldn't even give her fifty bucks to help out?_

Hell, Lucas Uley had gone to college and was a big shot architect in Seattle. He was rich as sin now and liked to flash his money around when he came to the rez. He didn't visit too often, but he did make an appearance several times a year. He always brought Seth gifts; like video game consoles, nice shoes and he even bought him a dirt bike for his fourteenth birthday.

Embry ran, his emotions pushing him faster. He remembered a few times when he had been at the Clearwater's when Lucas had shown up there. He couldn't remember a single shred of emotion in the bastard's eyes on any of the occasions that he saw him. He was just treated as an acquaintance of Seth and Leah's and nothing more. Hell, he had been at there house the day he had given Seth a PS3 station and twenty new games to go with it.

_What the fuck!_

Seriously? He didn't really care about the objects right now. But _seriously?_ Embry was his own son and he was that much of a cold hearted bastard that he would give that to Seth in front him? How did he know Tiffany hadn't told him who his dad was? Was he hoping she had? What if he thought that Embry would go home and tell his mother and it would hurt Tiffany. Was he trying to pay her back for not aborting him?

Embry howled in rage and hurt and confusion, swiping out and stripping bark from a tree in a long gash. It did nothing to make him feel better and the further he got from home, the worse he felt.

"_I'm coming, don't move, I'm coming,"_ he heard through the chaos in his mind and he stopped dead, dead vegetation flying up around him at the abrupt change. He dropped his head near the forest floor, panting from exertion. He felt like crying but refused. He would never shed a tear for that piece of scum.

Suddenly he heard sounds, like paws flying over the ground and he turned just in time to see Hannah in wolf form running towards him. He had never seen something move that fast; it looked like she flew like a comet suspended over the ground as she moved in a blur. She was so much smaller than the rest of the wolves; the same size actually as a true wolf. She was getting closer to him and he looked at her, astonished by what he saw right before she launched in the air.

He phased instinctively knowing that's what she needed him to do and caught her in his arms. She was human again and hugged him around the neck in a strangle hold. He felt all his distress and anger suddenly fade as strong warmth seeming to come from her, started to invade his whole being. He hugged her back and breathed in the scent of her. He sensed others from the pack coming up around them but he focused only on her. She made everything better.

"Embry?" she said quietly. He pulled back to look at her face. She smiled and touched his face. "I'll help you kill him," she whispered and he smiled at her as he shook his head but he understood why she said that. _What ever he needed…_ She looked suddenly worried.

"We have to go back, your mother needs me." He looked at her oddly and she just smiled dreamily. He suddenly realized he was still naked while she had a baggy t-shirt covering her. He remembered thinking _'what the hell?'_ when he first saw her running towards him, her furry wolf torso confined in a light grey t-shirt.

"Close your eyes," he told her and she instantly complied. He set her down and backed away, phasing when he felt she would be safe. He nudged her arm with his nose and she opened her eyes to stare at him. With a smile she touched his wolf face and then scratched behind his ears.

"I always wanted someone to do that when I was a dog," she said and then shuddered. "Yuck; I hated the fleas so bad." She touched his nose with hers and sighed. "I'm not turning dog, so let me ride on your back." He chuffed and lay down obediently. She scrambled up onto him and held his fur tightly.

"Okay," she breathed and he started to run towards home, trying to keep a smooth gait for her safety. He was still upset and unsettled by everything that had been exposed by his mother, but he felt better with Hannah holding onto him. He saw his house come into view a few minutes later and slowed. Sue was waiting on the back porch and when she saw them she brought him some shorts. As he went behind a tree to phase and dress he saw her help Hannah into a pair of jeans.

His mother was still sitting at the kitchen table, her face a mask of pain and worry and Hannah went to her immediately. She tugged at his mother's arm and when Tiffany turned towards her, she reached up and laid her hands on his mom's cheeks.

"You will not suffer over him any more. He has no power over you and you will forget his evil deeds. Be happy now. You will find someone who loves you." Embry swore Hannah's hands glowed faintly where they were touching his mother's face. He felt a hypnotic pull from her words and just stared at the two of them. _What the hell was she doing?_ His mom had a dazed look in her eyes as she smiled faintly at Hannah.

Johannah smiled back at her and moved her hands away. She blinked slowly and tilted her head. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" His mom looked taken aback by the question but then smiled down at Hannah's sweet face.

"Sure," she breathed out and Johannah beamed at her.


	25. Chapter 25

**I'm not going to apologize for the late update. Real Life is suckety right now and from computer problems and moving from Seattle to Florida; I am really stressed out. So I have decided I am not going to feel pressure about posting my FF. They are my one little slice of enjoyment and I don't ever want to turn them into something dreaded. So, here's an update. PLEASE leave me a little review if you have a second. I'm incredibly depressed and nothing takes my mind from my troubles like a review does. Thank you!**

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><p>It was nice to wake up with a little person next to you, Tiffany thought as she came full awake. It had been a good nine years since Embry had slept in her bed with her and she kind of missed it as a mother. Hannah was still asleep snuggled up against her side and Tiffany couldn't help but run a hand over her hair and smile when the little girl stretched and turned over. She seemed to try and hang on to sleep desperately and it amused Tiffany greatly. Embry was the same way. He loved to sleep and resisted waking up with every fiber of his being.<p>

As she thought of her son, the events of yesterday flooded the forefront of her mind and she froze as she realized that everything she thought she knew had been turned upside on it's head. Her son was a true-to-life shape-shifter who turned into a giant wolf. How was that even possible? She looked at the beautiful little girl curled up on her bed and shuddered for an instant. She had seen her body literally burst into a white wolf on the backseat of her Toyota. It was enough to send someone to a mental hospital but Tiffany was made of sterner stuff. No matter what anyone thought of her, she had more back bone than anyone gave her credit for.

She smiled now as she looked at Hannah. She remembered her as a baby and tiny child when her mother came to visit on the reservation. She was sure no one knew, but Kaiya Clearwater was one of the only people she had ever considered a close friend and she was definitely the only person Tiffany trusted completely. Before Kaiya had gotten married, she had made it a mission to befriend Tiffany who was pregnant with Embry at the time. She had helped Tiffany buy everything she would need for her baby and was just generally a major support system bundled into one effervescent person.

When she came to reservation with her baby a few years later, she had made a point to visit Tiffany. Embry had been almost two and Johannah three months and he had loved the little dark haired baby so much. In fact, she had pictures of him holding her and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a photo of him kissing baby Johannah on the face. She smiled now as she thought of it. She would have to dig it out and show it to him. With his new-found fascination with the girl, he would probably be embarrassed. But that was a perk of being a parent right?

It was still very early in the morning and Tiffany stretched before turning over onto her stomach and getting comfortable. She didn't have to go into work until noon and she figured after the stressful day yesterday, a few more hours of sleep would do her good. Maybe she would make the kids breakfast before she left. They were both obsessed with food; she was sure they would love it. It must have something to do with exploding into a giant dog, the need for massive quantities of food.

No matter how weirded out she was by the fact that her son turned into a giant dog, she was still relieved that he wasn't into drugs or anything illegal. Her thoughts were cut off when she felt a hot hand on her back. She suddenly felt very sleepy and didn't fight the feeling as it took her under.

"Embry." He felt a touch on his face and his wolf dragged him from sleep. "Embry," Hannah whispered and he bolted upright in bed.

"Huh? Wha?" He looked at her in alarm. "Are you okay?"

She nodded at him with wide eyes and wrinkled her nose. "I'm hungry." He smiled in relief when his mind processed that she was unharmed and was just in need of food.

"Oh," he said dumbly, still fuzzy from his deep, dream filled sleep. "Um, I'll make you breakfast." She smiled and nodded.

"Okay." Her voice was sweet and quiet and he couldn't help but smile stupidly at her. She just stood looking at him and he felt his face heat up. He luckily had a cotton sheet covering his waist and he seriously reevaluated sleeping in the raw when Hannah was in the house.

"Um, Hannah? I need to get dressed before I make you food." Her eyes went round again and her mouth matched them. He thought that she looked so utterly adorable as she turned and scuttled out of the room. He stretched and then pulled out a clean pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt.

Hannah was waiting in the hall, her hands held in front of her as she stood looking at his door. She was dressed in a little t-shirt and shorts and her hair was mussed around her face. When he opened the door and stepped out of his room, she slipped her hand into his and smiled up at him.

"What do we get to eat?" She asked eagerly. He couldn't believe how much she loved food. He thought he and his wolf had major anxiety issues over food, but she was just plain obsessed with it. He liked that.

"Well, I guess whatever you want. I know how to cook a whole bunch of stuff." She beamed at him, and he realized it was pride of him in her eyes.

"Can you make waffles?"

He grinned back at her. "Oh yeah."

"Two more," Hannah said and Embry poured more batter into the waffle maker. He never truly appreciated his mother's love of kitchen gadgetry until he became a ravenous wolf. She had an industrial Belgian waffle maker and he was currently putting it to good use to feed Hannah and himself. He also had her cast iron griddle covering two of the burners and was in the process of frying the second batch of bacon and eggs.

He and Hannah had already eaten two waffles each and a mountain of bacon and eggs and he was working on a second round of food for the both of them while she ate a third waffle. He couldn't believe that in the span of a few short days, he wouldn't even care about his own hunger until he was sure that Hannah was taken care of.

"Is your mom okay?" She asked from where she sat at the kitchen counter. Embry shrugged but couldn't help smiling when he looked at Hannah.

"She's probably freaked out still but my mom's a lot tougher than people give her credit for." His mom was still sleeping and Embry thought it was best to let her as long as she needed to. Yesterday had been pretty rough on her and she had to work today. He figured he would make her breakfast when she woke up. He had to give her credit for doing a pretty good job raising him. He had never appreciated her teaching him to cook either until he had Hannah to use it on and now as he stood wielding a spatula, he felt lucky that his mom had invested a lot into him as a child and adolescent.

"I didn't mean to," Hannah said quietly and he snapped out of his reverie to stare at her. She was looking morosely at her plate, her waffle abandoned as she looked close to tears. Panic instantly seized him as he felt her distress.

"What?" He said alarmed. "What's wrong?" Oh, hell. He wasn't paying attention to her! What had she said while his mind was drifting? Hannah looked at him with her pretty face puckered into a worried frown.

"I didn't mean to go back to a dog in her car. They scared me so bad and I was trying to wait to see you but I couldn't." He instantly dropped the spatula and turned off the stove as he circled around to where she was sitting. He lifted her easily into his arms and she hugged him back as fiercely as he did her.

"Of course you didn't," he soothed her. "I know that and so does mom. It's okay," he brushed his hand down her back and she pressed her cheek to his.

"So she's not mad?" she asked in a small voice and he tugged her back to look in her green eyes.

"No, she's not mad. Just give her a few days to process everything and she'll be fine." Hannah nodded and then shocked him by touching her nose to his and rubbing it affectionately like wolves would.

"The waffle's burning," she said and he turned to look at the smoking appliance with her still in his arms.

"Oh shit!" he said and she giggled. He set her hurriedly on the counter and picked the blackened waffle out with his bare fingers before wiping out the iron and refilling it with batter. "Hey," he said playfully when he realized she was eating the half-crisped bacon off the griddle. She grinned with her little nose scrunched up. Her smile fell and her eyes widened suddenly as she looked at something over his shoulder and he turned to see what she was staring at.

"Hi, mom," Embry greeted his mother as she stood in the door of the kitchen looking at him and Hannah. She shook her head a little and smiled faintly.

"Hey, I see I don't have to make you two breakfast," she said with a touch of humor in her voice. Hannah was finishing the bacon strip in her greasy fingers and smiled bashfully. His mom crossed the kitchen and took out a mug, pouring herself coffee. She stood next to where Hannah was sitting on the counter still and touched a hand to the girl's head.

"Did we wake you up?" Embry watched the two of them in a really good mood as Hannah asked this politely.

"No. My alarm did." His mom sighed. "Some people have to go to work." His antennae was up instantly and Embry let a growl rumble quietly in his chest.

"Is that prick Dennis bugging you still?" His mom smacked his arm lightly.

"Embry!" She looked over at Hannah and he rolled his eyes. "And no; he's not bugging me anymore. I think he's too scared to cross you."

That made him smile. He wasn't eighteen yet and he had men in positions of responsibility walking straight in fear of him. Dennis Morrow, the Forks hospital administrator had harassed his mom for months before Embry had confronted him in the hospital car park. It pleased him that his quietly delivered words had scared the older man into leaving his mother alone.

"Want some breakfast?" he asked and Tiffany smiled.

"Sure," she answered and he went to work, taking out the fresh waffle and putting in another. He scraped the ruined eggs off the griddle and turned it back on. Within minutes he had her breakfast ready and she gave him a one arm hug as she accepted it. She sat at the island and Hannah slid off the counter to go back to her seat next to his mom.

"Embry cooks really good," she said and his mom smiled.

"He does, doesn't he?" she answered with more than a little pride in her voice. He reloaded a plate for Hannah and then made himself a second mammoth portion. He stood at the counter eating with them, all three in a jovial mood but he felt a tiny undercurrent of tension from his mom. She was freaked out he knew, but like always, she was overcoming her own personal feelings and being what others needed her to be.

"I'm supposed to help Emily today," Hannah said quietly when she was finished eating. She looked at him with a shy look. "Can you take me there later?"

He smiled what Seth called the stupid-imprint-grin and nodded. "Of course. We can go home first if you want to get anything and then go to Emily's."

"Okay." She turned and looked at his mom. "Can I still come see you sometimes?" His mom's fork clattered to her plate and she swiveled on her stool to reach out to Hannah.

"Of course you can!" She pulled the girl to her and squeezed her in a hug. "You can come here whenever you want. I was just a little freaked out yesterday." She smiled softly and touched Hannah's face. "I'll be okay, just give me a few days to process it and I'll be okay."

Hannah smiled hesitantly and hugged his mom around the neck again. "I'm sorry I turned into a dog in your car."

His mom actually chuckled. "It's alright, just don't make a habit of it. I don't want to have to worry about my seats."

Embry cleaned up the kitchen with Hannah helping him some, while his mom got ready for work. She came down the hall in her scrubs and smiled at them both, giving Embry a hug and Hannah a kiss on the head.

"You two be good," she said.

"Of course. I'm taking her over to Emily's now." Tiffany picked up her purse and made sure her keys, phone and wallet were inside.

"Why don't I just drop you off on my way?" They all left the house together and the two of them got dropped at Sam and Emily's. Embry had called Seth and Hannah had gotten on the phone to tell him what she wanted him to bring her from their house when he came for lunch. She was pressed close to Embry's side as they entered Emily's house who smiled at Hannah. The young girl looked around to see who all was there. As it turned out, Emily was alone and Hannah relaxed with a little smile.

It was several hours until lunch and he figured he should catch up with the pack and find out what was going on. He had been solely focused on Hannah and had hardly given a thought about normal life.

"Embry." He looked down at her pretty face when she called his name. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" she said and blinked slowly. He sighed as he felt a feeling of everything being right in the world. "I'm gonna be with Emily."

He nodded and crouched down. "If you need me, just call my phone and I'll come back, okay?" She grinned with a hand on his cheek.

"Don't worry about me." She pushed him out the door with her tiny little hand and he only moved because she wanted him to.


	26. Chapter 26

Tiffany couldn't get something Hannah said out of her mind. When she had returned with Embry the night before, she had said, "you will find someone who loves you." Not 'will love you' but '_who_ loves you'.

It made her think of the one person she had never been able to forget, even though there had never been anything romantic between them. But he was the one she had always thought of; the one person she had thought she could have had something really good with, had her life been different. But life was what it was and she couldn't redo anything.

She knew she shouldn't be so obsessed with something a child said, but she couldn't help turning over and over in her mind as she tried to focus on her work. _What if..._ She shook it off. It wasn't worth agonizing over; she would probably never see him again anyway.

"Ah, Nurse Call." Tiffany finished scribbling a note on the patient file in her hand before looking up at Dennis Morrow; the hospital director. _He was such an ass._ But when she saw the person standing next to him she froze in shock.

"I'd like you to meet Dr. Coal. He is taking Dr. Cullen's place. Dr. Coal, I like to introduce you to one of our best nurses, Tiffany Call."

Sooty or _Dr. Coal_, as Dennis had called him, smiled devilishly as she just gaped at him. _Was this some kind of joke?_ Mr. Morrow's cell phone rang and he pulled it out, checking the caller id. He held up a finger. "I've got to take this. Miss Call, would you be so kind as to show Dr. Coal around?"

She gave him a scathing look. "Of course, it's not like I have patients or anything."

"I'll take over for you," Deena whispered behind her and Tiffany flashed her an ironic look. Deena waved her off with an encouraging smile. If there was one thing she could count on Deena for, it was a continual push into the world of dating and she could almost see the gears turning in her friend's red head, matching Tiffany up with the new Dr. Coal.

Her stomach was jumping with nerves and she just wanted to disappear before she hyperventilated. How could she just be thinking about him, how she would probably never see him again and then he just materializes right in front of her eyes!

"Tiffany!" Deena hissed and Tiffany looked wide eyed at her. Deena waved a finger in Sooty's direction. Tiffany bit her lip and took a deep breath. With a tiny sigh she looked up to Sooty; _Dr. Coal_, whatever.

"So, what part of our glorious hospital have you already seen?"

"It's nice to see you too, Tiffany," he said with a slow look over her body. She barely kept from shivering at the look in his eyes and merely gave him a bland stare as she started walking briskly. His long legs easily kept stride and she pointed out things as they passed by, never stopping in her whirlwind tour. She didn't stop until they turned down a seldom used corridor and she whirled around to face him.

"Doctor Coal, huh?"

He grinned his killer smile.

"Nurse Call, huh?" He answered back playfully and she narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me how you went from being Sooty to the new doctor at Forks hospital." He narrowed his eyes right back at her with his smile still in place.

"Hmm," he said and cocked his head. "Do you want the truth or just the bullshit answer?" She gave him an incredulous look and he put up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, the truth it is." He suddenly went serious.

"The day I broke that motel room door down and saw that bastard waling on you, I knew that I had to do something better with my life than what I was doing with that group of lowlifes. And when I watched Sheila trying to patch you up and save your baby, I felt so frustrated that there was nothing I could do to help. When you got better and your dad said that you had been disowned, I did a few things I probably shouldn't have and got that money together. I figured it was the least I could do to help you. And then I did a few more things I probably shouldn't have and pulled together a whole pile of money."

Tiffany was just staring at him mutely as he spoke, so he continued. "I had my high school diploma and so I enrolled in college. I was only twenty two and I figured I had enough time to do something good with my life. When the adviser asked me what I'd like to end up doing after college, I just kept thinking of you. So I said I'd like to be a doctor, thinking she'd laugh me out the door, but she didn't. She said that I would have to work hard, but she could see me making it. So that's what I did."

"I've been an ER doc in Seattle since my residency and when I heard about the opening at Forks, I applied for the job." He leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You see, I've been waiting for the opportunity since the day you drove out of Axel's driveway to get you, Tiffany Call. That's why I came here, to pursue you until you give into me."

_Holy shit!_ She stared at him, eyes wide. _He was serious!_

"What?" she asked him incredulously. He smiled again and raised his eyebrows.

"I've waited almost eighteen years for the chance to pursue you and be deserving of you. I'm not leaving Forks without you. And if you don't want to leave here period, I'm okay with that." She stared at him some more. Oh Holy Hell! He had moved here with the sole intent of pursuing her.

"So," he said with his eyes dancing, "I don't start officially until Monday. Are you free Friday night?"

Her jaw dropped. "Are you asking me out?"

"Yes," he said happily. "What time can I pick you up?" She shut her mouth and shook her head but there was something bubbling up in her chest and she felt a tiny smile come unbidden to her lips.

"Uh, I guess I could meet you," she said hesitantly.

"I'll pick you up," he said and she bit her lip. "Or will that upset your son?" She frowned at him.

"How do you know I have a son?" she asked him and he gave her a _'seriously?' _look.

"Though I am no longer in touch with the rest of our old buddies, I am still close friends with Axel and Sheila. I have heard things here and there and have even seen pictures of you and your son in their home."

"Oh," she said surprised. Axel hadn't mentioned Sooty in a long time. "Um, I get off of work at four on Friday. I guess any time after six is fine."

He grinned and ran his fingertips down the back of her hand. "I'll pick you up at seven." He took out his cell phone and handed it to her. "Can you give me your number?" She took it reluctantly and tapped out her phone number before he opened his digital address book. She dutifully filled in her address so he could find her on Friday and then smiled almost dazedly.

"Maybe I should show you the rest of the hospital before Dennis comes looking for you."

He chuckled. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't like Dennis Morrow?" She scowled at him with her nose wrinkled and he was sure she had no idea how utterly appealing she looked.

"I _don't_ like him. He's butt sore that I turned him down when he tried to get me to sleep with him. He's grabbed my ass and used to 'accidentally' brush against my boobs every chance he got. He only leaves me alone now because I threatened to tell his wife what he was doing. It's common knowledge that he's on his last life with her. One more incident and she'll leave him. Since she's the one with more money than him, it's not a prospect he looks forward too."

Sooty - Dr. Coal - was looking down at her with a fierce look. "He's harassing you?" he asked in a low tone. She grinned.

"Don't worry, Sooty. He's well and truly under my thumb. He's met my son who let him know on no uncertain terms that he was to leave me alone. I think he's more frightened of Embry than his wife finding out his latest misdeeds." Sooty laughed.

"So, do you still go by Sooty?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No, that's just what Axel called me when we were teenagers. It stuck with the rest of the group and I didn't mind then. My name is actually Jackson McManus Coal. My friends call me Jack but you can call me what ever you want."

Tiffany smiled. "My friends call me Tiffany and you may never call me Tiff or Tiffy."

They made their way through the rest of the hospital, but Tiffany could hardly concentrate on anything but Jack. Walking side by side with him, she could smell his cologne and feel the slight heat given off from his body. She felt giddy from the shock of seeing him out of the blue, especially in light of what she had revealed to Embry the night before and how much she had thought of him since then. When they made their way back to the Emergency Room, she saw Deena scurry away from the nurses station but watch them surreptitiously.

Jack smiled down at Tiffany.

"So, Tiffany, I'll see you on Friday." His eyes twinkled and two dimples were visible in his cheeks. It made her heart flutter and her stomach contract. He was just as handsome as she remembered him and the knowledge that he had spent the last eighteen years thinking of her, gave her more confidence in herself than she had ever felt before.

"See you Friday," she said as he left her at the nurses station.

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><p><em>Seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty.<em> Hannah lined up the last of the meatballs in the industrial size pans.

"Those are like tennis balls," Kim said with a little smile. Hannah looked at her with wide eyes.

"Should I make them smaller?" She looked down at the neat rows and frowned. "I thought the guys would like them. And they shrink down when they cook."

Kim stirred the cream filling for her Tiramisu and shook her head. "They're fine; I'm sure the guys will love them."

"Don't worry Hannie," Emily said from the stove where she was checking her three gallon pot of spaghetti sauce. "They will all be eaten."

After sliding the pans in the hot oven, Hannah washed her hands. "Do you need me to do anything else?" She asked Emily, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Emily smiled at the younger girl. "No, I think everything is pretty much done."

Hannah nodded, her mind already elsewhere. "Okay, I'll come back in a little bit," she said and darted out the door. Emily and Kim both looked after her and then went back to what they had each been doing. Hannah was a little odd most of the time. She didn't have a concept of asking permission or communicating where she was going, but she always turned up safe. It was an awkward situation too, because she was really sixteen though she looked like she was only nine or ten and she had been on her own for the last eight years.

Johannah was, at that moment, riding her bike to Embry's house. She knew his mom would be home soon and Tiffany had promised she could watch her do her hair and makeup. It had always been Hannah's favorite thing to do; watch her mother doll herself up. In the absence of her mother, she was forming a strong attachment to Tiffany. She had her Aunt Sue, but it was a different dynamic.

Aunt Sue was more down to earth and wasn't into fashion and style like Kaiya had been. Hannah definitely took after her mother in a lot of ways and she was glad that Tiffany was like her mother in liking girly things.

She saw Tiffany's car in the driveway as she pedaled up to the house and she left her bike on the side of the walkway and darted up the steps. She knocked and waited anxiously for Tiffany to answer.

"Hey baby," Embry said, opening the door with a doughnut in his hand. She stared at him, torn between curiosity why he was here and wanting his doughnut.

"I'm not a baby," she said with a scowl. "And give me a doughnut. Why are you here?"

Embry grinned as he stuffed the rest of his doughnut in his mouth. "I'm here because my mom is going on a date. And I don't have any more doughnuts."

Her jaw dropped. "You don't have any more doughnuts and you ate the rest of that one?"

"Embry, stop harassing her." Tiffany's voice rang out from the house and Hannah pushed her imprint aside to make her way to the kitchen. There, on the counter, was a box full of doughnuts.

"You are such a meany," she said as she picked out a Boston Cream. She squealed in surprise when he grabbed her from behind. Embry sat in a kitchen chair with Hannah on his lap.

"I'm not a meany. Take it back."

Hannah shook her head with a smug smile as she chewed a bite of her custard filled pastry. "Nope; you're a meany. You think it's funny to torture me with food."

He grinned at her, turning her on his lap. He enjoyed verbally sparring with her and didn't understand why the other wolves didn't loosen up and have more fun with their imprints. He had always thought if he ever imprinted he would be stuck with some girl for life, walking on eggshells, freaking out about offending her at every turn. It wasn't like that though. Hannah was really good-natured and didn't seem to ever get offended by his offbeat sense of humor. He teased her all the time and she gave it right back.

"You need to leave," she told him before stuffing the last bite in her mouth. "This is supposed to be girl time and you're a boy so you're not allowed."

Embry lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving, so you can get over that one."

Hannah narrowed her eyes at him. "You are too going to leave. We're doing makeup and you don't want me to use you as a practice dummy do you?"

He laughed out loud. "You don't scare me. If you want me to leave, I'd like to see you make me."

"Embry Call, do not sit that girl on your lap like that!" Tiffany paused in the kitchen with a furious glare at her son. She had a heaping basket of clean laundry and Hannah could smell the fabric softener she loved so much. She looked to see what Embry's mom was talking about and smiled bashfully at Tiffany. She hadn't realized before then that she was straddling his thighs, facing him. Though she hadn't developed adult hormones yet in her time warped body, her mind recognized the suggestive nature of the pose.

Embry sighed. "Jeez mom, don't make it seem like something dirty."

His mother merely glared and waited for him to move Hannah, before marching down the hall to her room. Hannah slid off his lap all together and got another doughnut.

"If you're not leaving, then you have to stay out here."

Embry sighed dramatically. "You wound me. I was so looking forward to using curling irons and mascara with you." He leaned over her shoulder and took a bite of her cinnamon twist.

Hannah giggled and pushed him away. "You were not. So do what you're really here for and wait for your mom's date and scare the crap out of him."

"How did you know that's what I came home to do?"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "You've been obsessed since your mom said she was going out on Friday night. And it's just killing you that she won't tell you who it is."

She was so much more perceptive and definitely smarter than most people realized. Though his wolf kept his mind from straying to inappropriate thoughts of her, he really couldn't wait until she fully adjusted to being human again and she caught up to her age physically. He knew that she would be phenomenal.


	27. Chapter 27

While the two females in his life closed themselves off in his mom's bedroom, Embry flopped on the couch and channel surfed until he found something interesting to watch. He could hear them talking and laughing, interspersed with a hair dryer turning on and off.

_Women were so weird,_ he thought. They did all this stuff in the name of making themselves more attractive to men, when really all they were doing was trying to out do each other.

She was his mom, but he knew from an objective standpoint that Tiffany Call looked really good for her age. And he knew she was a beautiful woman. Wherever they went, men were always looking at her, commenting on how hot she was, constantly flirting with her.

He had scared off more losers than he could count over the years, mostly guys she had been fixed up with on blind dates and were only interested in one thing. Well, they didn't make it past the front door if he didn't like them and after a few times of going despite her son's objections; Tiffany had relied on his opinion on who was nice and who was just trash.

Right now, Embry had a bad feeling about whoever his mother was so happy to be going out with. Not because he thought they were going to be a loser, but because he had a good guess from the great mood his mom had been in since Tuesday, that this was someone she really liked. He was happy for his mom if she found someone who treated her right and loved her for the great person she was. But he didn't want some overzealous guy coming in the picture and trying to be his dad. That ship had sail about fifteen years ago and there would be real issues if that scenario ever played out.

He zoned out watching the TV and was startled a while later by the sound of a car pulling up to the house. Every hackle rose and he stared at the front door, willing the person not to knock.

"Damn it!" _They knocked. _

He stalked over and tore the door open. He glared at the strange man in the doorway who surprisingly just smiled and stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jack."

Embry folded his arms over his muscled chest in a pose meant to intimidate.

Jack raised his eyebrows but nodded with an expression that said he totally understood Embry's standpoint.

Embry didn't say anything, just stared. To his surprise, Jack didn't fidget or look uncomfortable. He merely stuck his hands in his pockets and stood relaxed on the front porch.

Okay, the guy had balls, he looked decent enough and he drove an awesome car... not that it mattered.

"Fine, come in. My mom will be out in a minute." He stepped back and allowed Jack to enter. To his credit, Jack looked around with polite interest but not in a way that said he was scoping out new territory to conquer.

"How did you meet my mom?"

Jack seemed to think about his words before he answered. "Very unusually. I just recently met her again after a long time. I'm working at the hospital in Forks as of this coming Monday."

Embry narrowed his eyes. Jack was obviously not an orderly by the car he drove. "What do you do?"

"I'm a Trauma Surgeon but I'll probably end up in the ER most of the time."

That made Embry suspicious. "Why would you move to Forks if you're a trauma surgeon?"

Jack smiled somewhat self deprecatingly. "Actually, I was getting a little burned out in Seattle and when I heard there was an opening in Forks, I asked for the job. In all honesty, your mom was the biggest motivating factor in moving here."

Embry really didn't know what to say to that. His mom was the biggest factor in Jack moving to Forks?

_Where did he know his mom from? _He sure as hell didn't know Jack from anywhere and before he was born, Tiffany had only been an adult for a year or so.

Who was _Jack? _And how serious was his mom about him before they had even had a single date?

He heard his mom come down the hall and the little footsteps that followed stopped just short of turning the corner.

"Hey," Tiffany said and when Jack looked at her, Embry couldn't doubt he was a good guy by the smile that took over his face. The handsome doctor looked at his mother like she was the reason he lived and Tiffany bit her lip and flushed but she smiled just as brightly.

Embry was sure neither one of them realized how much you could read in their faces and though it made him uncomfortable to see his mother so worked up over a guy, he was relieved that she seemed to have found someone who could be worthy of her.

"Have fun," he said ironically to his mom and she smiled absently at him.

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

Knowing he was surplus company, Embry took himself back to the kitchen.

"Is he nice?" Hannah whispered the second he came into view.

He chuckled as he heard the front door close and nodded. "Yeah, he seems decent."

Hannah was sitting at the counter and wiggled on her stool. "That's good. Your mom is really excited, so I hoped he was nice. Can you get me some triangle cheese for my crackers?" she asked as she opened a box of Triscuits. "Oh, and an Orangina."

There were all of her favorite foods in the fridge as she spent a quarter of her time here and Embry took out the required items and handed them to her.

"Supper's almost done at Emily's. I made eighty meatballs. And Kim made Tiramisu because it's my favorite and she likes it too."

Embry grinned at her. "So if supper is almost done, why are you eating? Especially since you just ate two donuts."

Hannah gave him a withering look. "I ate those donuts _two hours_ ago. And this is just a snack. By the time we go to Emily's and everyone gets dinner, I'll be hungry again."

She scowled and shoved a cracker with Laughing Cow spread on it in her mouth and chewed while she opened the cap of her drink. When it didn't twist off, she held it out for Embry to do.

"I'm just messing with you baby," he said in a gentle tone. He didn't want her upset, just a little riled.

"I am not a BABY! Why does everyone call me baby?"

"It's an affectionate term; like honey or sweetheart or darling and all those ridiculous ones," he said and wiggled his eyebrows. "Would you rather me call you something else?"

She glowered in the way only she could. "So, you're not calling me a baby because I'm the smallest? Because I'll have you know that I have been a wolf three times as long as any of you."

She was so cute when she was mad and Embry couldn't help smiling as he hugged her from behind. "I know you have. And you're not 'baby' because you're small. You're a lot smarter than people think you are."

"I'm not really smart," she said in an insecure voice as she peeled open another cheese wedge. "I can't read or write very good."

She turned her head and looked up at him with a hopeful expression. "Were you good in school?"

He shrugged. "I was okay." Actually, that was too modest. If there was one thing Embry had excelled in before becoming a wolf; it was academia.

"Can you help me learn everything I missed so I can go to school when I look older?"

"Of course. I don't know if I can teach you everything, but we'll work on it."

She nodded and took another sip of her drink. "We need to go to Emily's and I'm not walking. I want to ride on your bike."

Embry froze and shook his head. "Uh uh. If Leah sees me let you ride on a motorcycle, she will kill me."

Hannah didn't say a word but just looked at him with her crazy persuasive eyes. With a sigh, Embry led the way outside and handed her the helmet that had come with the bike, courtesy of Bella. When she was finished using Jake and had gotten her own twisted happily ever after; she had 'generously' donated her motorbike to Embry.

The helmet was a little loose on Hannah and he tightened the chin strap so that should they wreck in the scant mile between his house and Emily's, she would have some protection.

"If I hear about this from anyone, it's on you and your 'make-me-do-things' eyes."

Hannah giggled. "Don't be so dramatic. It's like a mile away."

She held his waist tightly as he drove carefully to Emily's and when he parked, she pouted at him. "You drive so slow."

Embry took off her helmet. "Yeah, and I'm gonna keep my balls because of it," he said, pointing to where Leah was pulling in the driveway after them.

"Don't talk like that around her," Leah snarled as she slid out of the driver's seat. Hannah smiled at her favorite cousin.

"Hi Leah!"

"Hey baby," Leah said in reply as she hugged the young girl and kissed her forehead. "I came to take you home."

Hannah scrunched her little nose up. "But we haven't eaten dinner yet. I made meatballs; do you want some?"

Leah sighed. "Fine. But we're not staying long."

Hannah skipped up the porch to see if the food was ready and Leah smiled at Embry.

"So... cuz." She hadn't seen him but in passing since the big reveal that his dad was Lucas Uley. Lucas was Sue's brother and Leah's uncle, which made Embry, Leah and Seth first cousins.

"Kinda weird huh? You guys were the ones I never thought I was related to."

"Actually it's kind of cool," Leah said. She looked at the ground. "Not just because we're related now, but I'm really sorry for the totally bitchy things I said about you and your dad in the past. I was just taking out all my frustrations on you because you were an easy target."

She sighed and looked chagrined. "I've felt bad about it, but when I heard what that dick did to your mom I felt like I should say something."

She scowled and shook her head. "I can't believe he was such a camouflaged monster. And the worst part to me; you were at our house when he came and brought so much stuff. I can't even fathom what a heartless bastard he has to be to act like he has."

Embry was honestly stunned. He had never thought he would hear Leah apologize to anyone; much less him.

"If you tell anyone I apologized; I'll tear your vocal chords out." She said as if she could see what he was thinking.

He laughed. That was the Leah he was familiar with. Shaking his head, he smiled at her. It was weird. He had known Leah and Seth forever. But now that he knew they were his blood relatives, it felt different. It wasn't just him and his mom against the world any more. He had extended family now and it felt pretty good. He didn't feel like the outcast on the reservation with the shrouded paternity. It felt really good to know that even though he _had_ been abandoned by his father, at least it wasn't by a married man who had seen him consistently for his whole life and had just ignored him. Knowing that he wasn't the result of a home-wrecking affair was very relieving; especially since the former possibilities had been his best friends fathers.

"Thanks," he said to Leah; acknowledging her apology. "I kind of understand now though. If Hannah did to me what Sam did to you, I would kill someone and she's still a kid so it's not like we're even dating yet."

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Does it ever feel like we live in the most fucked up fairy tale of all time?"

Leah laughed bitterly. "You have no idea."

There was no one from the wolf pack present yet, which was why they were talking so candidly. It felt kind of freeing to talk to someone who wasn't judgmental and both leaned against the hood of Leah's car.

"You ever thought of going somewhere else and doing something now that the whole vampire hoard is cleared out?"

Leah shrugged at Embry's question and fought back the clawing desperation that crawled up her throat. "I think about it all the time. But it's kind of hard to go anywhere or do anything when you don't even have a hundred bucks."

They were silent for a few minutes and Embry glanced over at her. "I could sue Lucas for back child support and we could split the money. Then you could go do something."

Leah chuckled. "Thanks for the offer, but if you ever squeeze a dime out of the deadbeat asshole formerly known as my uncle, keep it. You definitely deserve it."

Hannah came out on the porch just then and waved at them.

"Is she _eating_ again?" Embry said incredulously.

"She eats continuously," Leah commented. "I feel for her. She told me one night that she would go for weeks eating rotten garbage and she would cry at night in the woods because her stomach hurt and she was so lonely and scared."

Embry's stomach somersaulted at the image of Hannah like that. He looked at her now, walking slowly towards him with a slab of bread in her hand that she was munching on. He felt tortured as he thought of her lost and hungry. _He should have been there to take care of her,_ he thought irrationally.

"Emily said we have to wait to eat until the rest of the guys get here," Hannah told him, her focus still on her cheesy garlic bread. She climbed up to sit on the hood of the car between the two of them and looked at him with a little smile. "If you're starving, I can go steal you some bread."

Embry chuckled. "Thanks, but I think I'll survive."

She shrugged. "I was just being nice, which I don't really think you deserve since you were such a meany earlier."

"_You_ were mean to her?" Leah asked with incredulity. "I thought there was hard-wiring that prevents you from being mean to your imprint."

"He thinks it's funny to tease me about food," Hannah told her. "But it's fine. When he crosses a line, I'll just make him stay away with my _'make-you-do-things'_ eyes." That last bit was said with a hint of bite and Embry laughed.

"I would never be mean to you for real," he said, hugging her against his side. "And I like your 'make-me-do-things' eyes."

"My dad said I was a 'persuader' and I have 'mezmer'. He used to make me practice on him and my mom. Apparently I can make people do what I want with my eyes." She ate the last bit of her bread and wiped her hands on her jeans.

When she looked up and saw Embry and Leah staring at her she wrinkled her nose. "What? Is that really weird?"

Both of them nodded in concert. "Uh, yeah," Leah said. "People don't just make other people do what they want by looking at them."

Hannah shrugged. "We turn into dogs. We're not really regular people."

Any more discussion was cut off by the sound of running wolves and a couple vehicles approaching. Hannah smiled happily.

"We can eat now." She looked up at Leah. "When we go home, can Embry come for a little while?"

Leah was the only one that Hannah asked approval from and she nodded in affirmation. "Sure, but he's not spending the night."

The three of them walked towards the house, Hannah holding Embry's hand. "That's fine. I'm sure he'll want to go home and make sure his mom comes home safe from her date anyway."

Leah looked over at Embry with a smirk. "Your mom's on another date?" She had seen quite a few of the losers who tried to date Tiffany Call through Embry's pissed off thoughts in wolf form.

He sighed and nodded. "Some guy named Jack who just moved from Seattle to Forks. He's a doctor. Apparently, he knew her a long time ago and she's the motivating factor in him moving here."

"Wow, sounds serious," Leah commented.

They had made it through the front door and Hannah nodded. "Yeah, she said she never thought she'd see Sooty again and then he walked into the hospital."

Embry felt like the floor fell out from beneath his feet. Sooty was the man his mom said saved the two of them from his dad's murderous rage.

_Jack was Sooty?_


End file.
